Allegory of Birth 1558

Giorgio Ghisi's "Allegory of Birth" (1558) is a complex and captivating engraving that depicts the birth of a child. The central figure is a woman in labor, attended by a midwife and a woman who holds a baby. Three cherubs play in the foreground, while a fourth figure, possibly representing Venus, rides in a chariot above the landscape. Ghisi, a leading artist of the Venetian Renaissance, used intricate details and strong contrasts to create a dynamic composition. This print, now part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection, offers a glimpse into 16th-century depictions of childbirth, highlighting both the physical and symbolic aspects of this transformative event.