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Satyrs Admiring the Anamorphosis of an Elephant

After Simon Vouet French
17th century
Not on view
This engraving, originally pasted onto the so-called Vouet Scrapbook (inv. 45.97, fol. 78), is based on a drawing (Hessisches Landesmuseum–Graphische Sammlung, Darmstadt) by the great virtuoso painter and draftsman Simon Vouet, who was deeply interested in this particular form of anamorphosis, know as catoptric. Set in a pastoral landscape, the scene depicts a group of astonished satyrs observing a cylindrical mirror—a primitive culture before it was enlightened by science. The distorted, unreadable drawing is revealed to be the image of an elephant when clarified in the reflection of the cylindrical mirror. Vouet’s design originally served as a frontispiece for the second edition of Jean Fraçois Niceron’s "La Perspective curieuse" published in Paris in 1652, which was the most famous treatise on anamorphosis. The Museum owns the first edition of Niceron’s treatise, inv. 41.100.450(2).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Satyrs Admiring the Anamorphosis of an Elephant
  • Artist: Hans Troschel (German, Nuremberg 1585–1628 Rome)
  • Artist: After Simon Vouet (French, Paris 1590–1649 Paris)
  • Date: 17th century
  • Medium: Engraving
  • Dimensions: sheet: 9 9/16 x 13 9/16 in. (24.3 x 34.5 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1945
  • Object Number: 45.97(78)
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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