Portrait of Albrecht Dürer in his 56th year
| Reference: | S30426 |
| Author | Andrea ANDREANI |
| Year: | 1588 |
| Measures: | 260 x 300 mm |
€1,800.00
| Reference: | S30426 |
| Author | Andrea ANDREANI |
| Year: | 1588 |
| Measures: | 260 x 300 mm |
€1,800.00
Description
Woodcut, 1588, titled at top Albrecht Dürer Conterfeyt im seinem altter des LVI. Jares, signed and dated at bottom 'Al mio C.C.MGio ... / Mantoano ha intagliato l'anno MCLXXXVIII in Siena'.
Bust in profile left, based on the Mathes Gebel medal, first translated into print by Erhard Schoen.
The medal was probably first issued shortly after Dürer's death, in response to demand for portraits of the latter. An early printed version of the master's portrait, carved by Erhard Schoen, was printed around 1550 by Hans Glaser in Nuremberg, accompanied by an additional eulogistic poem by the "Meistersinger" Hans Sachs (1494-1576), who mentions the high esteem in which Dürer was held by princes and lords near and far, as well as the importance of his work for artists and craftsmen in the mid-16th century ("Des wardt er bey Fürsten und Herren /Ehrlich gehalten nach und ferren / Und bey all künstlich weckleuten / Die noch sein kunst loben und deuten"); also incorrectly reports the date of death as May 6 instead of April 6. During the 16th century, Dürer's printed portrait knew at least eight reprints and five copies.
“In this copy of Schön's print, Andreani has added Dürer's monogram and his coat of arms in heraldic shields in the upper corners of the print and signed it with an AA monogram in imitation of Dürer's own. The German text in gothic script above, 'Portrait of Albrecht Dürer in his 56th year' and the prominent Italian inscription below, 'Andrea Andreani of Mantua cut this print in1588 in Siena' give the print an obviously reverential feel. Andreani was an Italian designer of woodcuts and printer who specialised in the production of chiaroscuro prints during the second half of the sixteenth century. He also acquired earlier blocks and re-issued them. Dürer' works, especially his religious prints, were immensely popular and widely copied well into the sixteenth century in Italy, particularly by Florentine artists of the period, so a print such as this would have had an obvious appeal” (cf. G. Bartrum, 'Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy').
Magnificent proof, printed on contemporary laid paper without watermark, with small margins beyond marginal line, slight restoration to left side margin, otherwise in excellent condition.
Bibliografia
G. Bartrum, 'Albrecht Dürer and his Legacy', exh cat. London, British Museum, 2002-3, n.13; Hollstein 156 (After Erhard Schoen, copy b).
Andrea ANDREANI (Mantova 1546 – 1623)
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Italian woodcutter and printer. He was the only printmaker to produce a significant number of chiaroscuro woodcuts in Italy in the second half of the 16th century; he also reprinted chiaroscuro woodblocks originally cut 60 or 70 years earlier. He made at least 35 prints in both black and white and colour (many multiple-sheet), using a sophisticated style of cutting characterized by thin, closed contours. Based in Florence in 1584–5 and from 1586 in Siena, by 1590 he was also finding work in his native Mantua, where he is documented as establishing a workshop. He reproduced the designs of artists in diverse media with great fidelity: for example he made several prints (1586–90) after Domenico Beccafumi’s intarsia pavement designs in Siena Cathedral, three prints (1584) from different angles of Giambologna’s marble sculpture of the Rape of the Sabines (Florence, Loggia Lanzi), as well as of the bas-relief on the base of the same group and of Giambologna’s relief of Christ before Pilate (Florence, SS Annunziata), both in 1585; in the same year he also made prints after paintings and wash drawings by Jacopo Ligozzi and in 1591–2 others after Alessandro Casolani (1552–1608). His admiration for the woodcuts of Titian’s workshop is evident in his copies of the Triumph of Faith (his only work published in Rome, c. 1600) and Pharaoh Crossing the Red Sea (Siena, 1589) and in his practice of making very large prints composed of many joined sheets. Usually he used four overlapping chiaroscuro blocks per sheet; his most ambitious projects could call for 40 to 52 blocks each, as in the Sacrifice of Isaac (1586) after Beccafumi’s pavement, the Deposition (1595) after Casolani’s painting in S Quirico, Siena, and the Triumph of Caesar (1598–9) based on drawings by Bernardo Malpizzi after Andrea Mantegna’s cartoons (London, Hampton Court, Royal Col.). The fact that Andreani dedicated prints to so many different people, as the inscriptions on his prints show, suggests he had difficulty in finding patrons, though he briefly enjoyed assistance from the Gonzagas. This scarcity of patronage doubtless led to his reprinting, and, where wear or damage required, recutting earlier blocks, probably acquired from Niccolò Vicentino.
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Andrea ANDREANI (Mantova 1546 – 1623)
|
Italian woodcutter and printer. He was the only printmaker to produce a significant number of chiaroscuro woodcuts in Italy in the second half of the 16th century; he also reprinted chiaroscuro woodblocks originally cut 60 or 70 years earlier. He made at least 35 prints in both black and white and colour (many multiple-sheet), using a sophisticated style of cutting characterized by thin, closed contours. Based in Florence in 1584–5 and from 1586 in Siena, by 1590 he was also finding work in his native Mantua, where he is documented as establishing a workshop. He reproduced the designs of artists in diverse media with great fidelity: for example he made several prints (1586–90) after Domenico Beccafumi’s intarsia pavement designs in Siena Cathedral, three prints (1584) from different angles of Giambologna’s marble sculpture of the Rape of the Sabines (Florence, Loggia Lanzi), as well as of the bas-relief on the base of the same group and of Giambologna’s relief of Christ before Pilate (Florence, SS Annunziata), both in 1585; in the same year he also made prints after paintings and wash drawings by Jacopo Ligozzi and in 1591–2 others after Alessandro Casolani (1552–1608). His admiration for the woodcuts of Titian’s workshop is evident in his copies of the Triumph of Faith (his only work published in Rome, c. 1600) and Pharaoh Crossing the Red Sea (Siena, 1589) and in his practice of making very large prints composed of many joined sheets. Usually he used four overlapping chiaroscuro blocks per sheet; his most ambitious projects could call for 40 to 52 blocks each, as in the Sacrifice of Isaac (1586) after Beccafumi’s pavement, the Deposition (1595) after Casolani’s painting in S Quirico, Siena, and the Triumph of Caesar (1598–9) based on drawings by Bernardo Malpizzi after Andrea Mantegna’s cartoons (London, Hampton Court, Royal Col.). The fact that Andreani dedicated prints to so many different people, as the inscriptions on his prints show, suggests he had difficulty in finding patrons, though he briefly enjoyed assistance from the Gonzagas. This scarcity of patronage doubtless led to his reprinting, and, where wear or damage required, recutting earlier blocks, probably acquired from Niccolò Vicentino.
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