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Collections

Antonio Tempesta
The Twelve Months Ipublished 1599

Not on view
Engraving on cream paper depicting a crowded kitchen and banquet hall scene with figures cooking, serving, and dining, labeled 'GENNARO' in large capitals along the bottom
Engraving of a busy Italian piazza during Carnival festivities, labeled 'FEBRARO' at bottom center. Armored knights on horseback fill the foreground, surrounded by crowds in period dress; acrobats and performers animate the middle ground; multi-story buildings line the background. Fine hatched linework throughout, with Italian text captions along the lower margin.
Engraving depicting a busy rural landscape for the month of March, with shepherds tending large flocks of sheep in the foreground, figures working near a smoking cauldron at left, plowing and herding cattle in the middle distance, and bare trees against rolling hills; Italian text inscription along the bottom margin.
Engraving of a formal garden scene labeled 'APRILE,' with symmetrical parterres, a domed central gate, and a fountain at right. Elegantly dressed figures converse in the foreground while workers tend beds; horses and carts at left. Lines of Italian verse at bottom margin.
Engraving depicting a busy outdoor scene with multiple figure groups across a rolling landscape; at left, peasants gather beneath large trees; at center, a seated musician plays pipes; at right, a mounted falconer holds birds of prey; horses, dogs, and livestock populate the middle and background, with a stone building and tree-lined hills receding into the distance; Italian text caption below reads "MAGGIO."
Engraving depicting June harvest activities across a panoramic landscape; foreground shows figures shearing sheep and resting beneath a large tree, while workers load hay carts, tend livestock, and labor in fields extending to a distant hillside with ruins; Italian text caption runs along the bottom edge.
Engraving depicting July harvest activities across a rural landscape; figures thresh grain, load ox-drawn carts, and work near a villa and farmhouse, with Italian text in columns along the bottom margin.
Engraving depicting summer river scene with multiple figures; foreground shows fishermen hauling nets and wading, background includes harvest workers, barrels, livestock, and a town skyline; Italian text below reads 'AGOSTO'; fine crosshatched linework throughout
Engraving depicting September harvest scene; foreground figures climb ladders to pick grapes from vines trained on trees, filling large wooden barrels and baskets; middle ground shows ox-drawn carts and laborers in a vineyard; Italian text in four columns along the bottom margin.
Engraving of a busy rural landscape scene labeled 'OTTOBRE' (October), with peasants plowing fields, tending livestock including oxen, herding sheep, and resting beneath large trees; multiple figures occupy a winding road receding into a hilly background; Italian text in four columns below the image; small scorpion zodiac symbol in upper sky.
Engraving depicting November harvest activities across a wooded landscape; figures tend pigs beneath oak trees, a hunter aims a rifle near a horse and dog, woodcutters stack logs at right, and horsemen ride in the distance; Italian text caption along the bottom margin.
Engraving depicting December rural scenes: figures butchering a pig, a rider on horseback, herds of sheep, villagers gathered near fires and open-air stalls, with bare trees and buildings receding into a hilly background. Latin text inscribed along the bottom border, with a small Capricorn zodiac symbol above in the sky.

Antonio Tempesta, January: A Kitchen, published 1599, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Fund, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Artist or Maker
Antonio Tempesta
Title
The Twelve Months I
Place Made
Italy
Date Made
published 1599
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet (each): 8 1/2 × 11 in. (21.59 × 27.94 cm) Image (each): 7 7/8 × 10 7/8 in. (20 × 27.62 cm)
Credit Line
Los Angeles County Fund
Accession Number
65.37.272-.283
Classification
Prints
Collecting Area
Prints and Drawings
Selected Bibliography
  • Bartsch, Adam von. The Illustrated Bartsch. New York: Abaris Books, 1978.