Marcantonio Raimondi

Marcantonio Raimondi, also simply Marcantonio, (c.1480 - c.1534) was an Italian engraver, known for being the first person to reproduce other artists' engravings almost exclusively in lieu of creating his own.

Career

Early Beginnings

Marcantonio Raimondi was born around 1480 in Bologna, Italy. Marcantonio received his training in the workshop of the famous goldsmith and painter of Bologna, Francesco Raibolini, usually called Francia. His first dated work, completed in 1505, illustrates the story of Pyramus and Thisbe. Vasari, a biographer, writes that Marcantonio quickly demonstrated more aptitude than Francia, and started designing and producing fashionable waist-buckles (among other items) in niello, a fashionable alloy.

Marcantonio then started to develop better techniques for engraving plates for reproduction by the printing press. Although rudimentary methods of preparing plates for mass production had been utilized in the workshops of Venetia, the Emilia, Tuscany, and Lombardy, they were not capable of the complexity that Marcantonio desired in his work.

From 1505 - 1511, Marcantonio engraved about 80 pieces, demonstrating a wide variety of subject matter, with many referencing pagan mythology, and others depicting Christian stories and ideals. These engravings clearly demonstrate the effect of Francia's training, tempered with techniques (especially in the lanscape backgrounds) from German artists.

Reproductions

Trying to take advantage of his skill in reproduction, Marcantonio moved to Venice and created 69 copper counterfeits of woodcuts originally made by Albrecht Dürer. There are conflicting stories about what happened next. According to Vasari, Dürer's indignation over those counterfeits was the cause of his journey to Venice, where he is said to have lodged a legal complaint against Marcantonio. However, Vasari's account is questionable, since Dürer's trip to Venice took place before the woodcuts that Marcantonio reproduced were originally published.

Rome

Around 1510, Marcantonio travelled to Rome and entered the circle of artists surrounding Raphael. This influence began showing up in engravings titled The Climbers (in which he reproduced part of Michelangelo's Soldiers surprised bathing). After a reproduction of a work by Raphael, entitled Lucretia, Raphael trained and assisted Marcantonio personally.

The two started a successful printing establishment under a colorgrinder, Il Baveria, that quickly expanded into an engraving school with Marcantonio at the head. Among his most distinguished pupils were Marco Dente (Marco da Ravenna), and Agostino de Musi (Agostino Veneziano).

Later years

Marcantonio and his pupils continued to make engravings based upon Raphael's work, even after Raphael's death in 1520. In many instances, Marcantonio would not copy the finished painting, but would instead worked from early sketches and drafts. This method produced variations on a theme and were moderately successful.

Around 1524, Marcantonio was briefly imprisoned by Pope Clement VII for making erotic engravings, such as the I Modi set, based upon the works of Giulio Romano.

During the Sack of Rome, in 1527, he was forced to pay a heavy ransom by the Spaniards and fled in poverty. It is unclear 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). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

Biographical information

Reproductions of his works