Marcantonio Raimondi 1

Marcantonio Raimondi

Lucretia, engraved by Raimondi after a design by Raphael.

Marcantonio Raimondi, also simply Marcantonio (c. 1480– c. 1534), was an Italian engraver, known for being the firstimportant printmaker whose body of work consists mainly ofprints copying paintings. He is therefore a key figure in therise of the reproductive print. He also systematized atechnique of engraving that became dominant in Italy andelsewhere.

Biography

Early years

Marcantonio Raimondi was born around 1480-2, probably inArgine, near Bologna, Italy. Marcantonio received histraining in the workshop of the famous goldsmith and painterof Bologna, Francesco Raibolini, best known as Francia.Vasari, a biographer, writes that Marcantonio quicklydemonstrated more aptitude than Francia, and starteddesigning and producing fashionable waist-buckles (amongother items) in niello, engraved metal which is filled in withalloy in a contrasting colour. This is doubted, however, byHind, who sees no evidence of a background in niellotechnique in his early engravings.

The Massacre of the Innocents, designed by Raphael.

No paintings produced by Marcantonio are known ordocumented, although some drawings survive. His firstdated engraving, Pyramus and Thisbe, comes from 1505,although a number of undated works come from the yearsbefore this. From 1505–1511, Marcantonio engraved about80 pieces, with a wide variety of subject matter, from paganmythology, to religious scenes. His early works use his owncompositions, combining elements from Francia and otherNorth Italian artists, and like all Italian printmakers in theseyears he was strongly affected by the enormouslyaccomplished prints of Dürer, which were widelydistributed in Italy. Like other printmakers such as Giulio Campagnola, he borrowed elements of Dürer's landscapesin a cut and paste fashion, and also borrowed from his technique. Dürer was in Bologna in 1506, as wasMichelangelo, and he may have met one or both of them.

Marcantonio Raimondi 2

Reproductions

Judgement of Paris, c. 1515, Marcantonio after Raphael

About this time he began to make copies of Dürer'swoodcut series, the Life of the Virgin. This was extremelycommon practice, although normally engravers copied otherexpensive engravings rather than the cheaper woodcuts.However Dürer's woodcuts had raised the standard of themedium considerably, and since Marcantonio continued tocopy a large number of both Dürer's engravings andwoodcuts, he must have found it profitable.

His early copies included Dürer's famous AD monogram,and Dürer made a complaint to the Venetian Government,which won him some legal protection for his monogram,but not his compositions, in Venetian territory - animportant case in the slowly evolving history of intellectual property law.

Marcantonio appears to have spent some of the last half of the decade in Venice, but no dates are known.

Rome

A well-known engraving of Giovanni Filoteo Achillini; Suonatore diviola da mano, by Marcantonio Raimondi, c. 1510. It was produced

from a lost original painting by Francesco Francia.

Around 1510, Marcantonio travelled to Rome andentered the circle of artists surrounding Raphael. Thisinfluence began showing up in engravings titled TheClimbers (in which he reproduced part ofMichelangelo's Soldiers surprised bathing, also calledBattle of Cascina). After a reproduction of a work byRaphael, entitled Lucretia, Raphael trained and assistedMarcantonio personally.

Another famous engraving, the Judgement of Paris,dated 1515 or 1516, after Raphael, became thecomposition source for Édouard Manet when hepainted the The Luncheon on the Grass.

The two started a successful printing establishmentunder a colorgrinder, Il Baveria, that quickly expandedinto an engraving school with Marcantonio at the head.Among his most distinguished pupils were MarcoDente (Marco da Ravenna), Giovanni Jacopo Caraglioand Agostino de Musi (Agostino Veneziano).

Later years

Marcantonio and his pupils continued to makeengravings based upon Raphael's work, even afterRaphael's death in 1520. In many instances,Marcantonio would not copy the finished painting, but would instead worked from early sketches and drafts. Thismethod produced variations on a theme and were moderately successful.Around 1524, Marcantonio was briefly imprisoned by Pope Clement VII for making the I modi set of erotic engravings, from the designs of Giulio Romano, which were later accompanied by sonnets written by Pietro Aretino.

Marcantonio Raimondi 3

At the intercession of the Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici, Baccio Bandinelli and Pietro Aretino, he was released, andset to work on his plate of the Martyrdom of St. Lawrence after Bandinelli.During the Sack of Rome, in 1527, he was forced to pay a heavy ransom by the Spaniards and fled in poverty. It isunclear where he stayed after his departure from Rome until his death in 1534.

References•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911).

"Marcantonio" [1]. Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press• Bryan, Michael (1889). Walter Armstrong & Robert Edmund Graves, ed. Dictionary of Painters and Engravers,

Biographical and Critical (Volume II L-Z) [2]. York St. #4, Covent Garden, London; Original from Fogg Library,Digitized May 18, 2007: George Bell and Sons. p. 341.

• Bull, George (1976). Aretino: Selected Letters. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books Ltd. p. 156.

External links

Biographical information• Artcyclopedia: Marcantonio Raimondi (1480 - 1527) [3]

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Marcantonio Raimondi [4]

• Marcantonio Raimondi (Getty Museum) [5]

Reproductions of his works• Works at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa [6]

• Cybermuse [7]

• Childs Gallery [8]

• Marcantonio Raimondi engravings from De Verda collection [9]

• Prints & People: A Social History of Printed Pictures [10], an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museumof Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Marcantonio Raimondi (see index)

References[1] http:/ / www. 1911encyclopedia. org/ Marcantonio[2] http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=K2cCAAAAYAAJ& pg=PA1& dq=Michael+ Bryan+ Painters+ Engravers#PPP7,M1[3] http:/ / wwar. com/ masters/ r/ raimondi-marcantonio. html[4] http:/ / www. newadvent. org/ cathen/ 12634b. htm[5] http:/ / www. getty. edu/ art/ collections/ bio/ a3669-1. html[6] http:/ / collections. tepapa. govt. nz/ search. aspx?advanced=colProProductionMakers%3a%22Raimondi%2c+ Marcantonio%22+

colCollectionGroup%3aCH[7] http:/ / cybermuse. gallery. ca/ cybermuse/ search/ artist_work_e. jsp?iartistid=4528[8] http:/ / www. childsgallery. com/ artist. php?artist_id=1439& start_ndx=0[9] http:/ / www. colecciondeverda. com/ search/ label/ La%20Vida%20de%20la%20Virgen%20%28Raimondi%29[10] http:/ / libmma. contentdm. oclc. org/ cdm/ compoundobject/ collection/ p15324coll10/ id/ 94303/ rec/ 1

Article Sources and Contributors 4

Article Sources and ContributorsMarcantonio Raimondi  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=552916108  Contributors: 83d40m, Attilios, BD2412, Baroque1700, Brian0918, CARAVAGGISTI, D6,FeanorStar7, Frury, Islandbaygardener, JASpencer, Jahsonic, Johnbod, Mattbrundage, Monegasque, Mortaddams, Omnipaedista, Oxxo, Rbraunwa, Redtony, Reiner Martin, Rmky87,Robyvecchio, SebastianHelm, Sparkit, Switchercat, Themillofkeytone, WilliamDigiCol, 5 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsImage:Lucretia MR.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Lucretia_MR.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Andreagrossmann, AndreasPraefcke, Austriacus, Bukk,Jarekt, Mattes, Millevache, Olliminatore, 1 anonymous editsImage:Marcantonio Raimondi - Massacre des innocents.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Marcantonio_Raimondi_-_Massacre_des_innocents.jpg  License: PublicDomain  Contributors: Jarekt, Oxxo, SmuconlawImage:Urteil des Paris.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Urteil_des_Paris.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: AndreasPraefcke, Austriacus, Bukk, Concord,HBook, Olliminatore, ZH2010, 3 anonymous editsImage:Giovanni Filoteo Achillini, by Marcantonio Raimondi, 1510.jpg  Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Giovanni_Filoteo_Achillini,_by_Marcantonio_Raimondi,_1510.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: G.dallorto, Peng, SkipjackFile:PD-icon.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:PD-icon.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Alex.muller, Anomie, Anonymous Dissident, CBM, MBisanz, PBS,Quadell, Rocket000, Strangerer, Timotheus Canens, 1 anonymous edits

LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/