Portrait of Sappho of Lesbos

“Sapho Lesbienne Poetrice” (caption). Copperplate engraving measuring 170 x 140 mm (image); 370 x 230 mm (sheet), letterpress in French surrounding the image, extracted from André Thevet’s Les Vrais pourtraits et vies des hommes illustres grecz, latins et payens (Paris, 1584).

A fine example of Thevet’s iconic representation of the classical Greek poet Sappho ( Σαπφώ) c. 630 – c. 570 BC. As indicated in the title, the word lesbian is an allusion to Sappho, originating from the name of the island of Lesbos, where she was born.

A Franciscan priest, explorer, cosmographer and writer, André Thevet travelled to the New World in the sixteenth century and published a notable account of his time there. His series of biographies Les Vrais pourtraits et vies des hommes was his last published work.