Adoration of the Magi

The adororation of the Magi, after Aurelio Luini.

Chiaroscuro woodcut, circa 1580, printed from three blocks in green, yellow and black. Lettered lower centre 'Luvin inv.'

A fine impression on contemporary laid paper with “sun” watermark, trimmed to the borderline, in good condition.

An unsigned work and relatively ignored in the literature, it is assigned to Andreani in major museum repertories and catalogs. The derivation is uncertain. Although, it is claimed to derive from Aurelio Luini's painting, the inscription may refer to his father Bernardino (1480-1532).

“The Luvin inv. which can be read in a four-wood print described by Bartsch (II, n. 4) must evidently refer, as Bartsch himself supposes, to Bernardino Luini; but nothing authorizes us to assert that the engraving, without a carver’s signature, was executed by Andreani. Who was always in the habit of subscribing himself very prominently” (cf. Alfredo Petrucci - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 3).

Andreani used chiaroscuro reproduction, very fashionable at the time, achieving excellent results: he liked to print with several woods superimposed in a complementary manner, in a way that partakes more of the Nordic camaieu “with closed outlines” than of Ugo da Carpi's chiaroscuro “with open outlines”. His graphic work comprises about forty works. The chiaroscuro technique is particularly difficult in execution, which is why it has found few followers in the history of graphic art. The Mantuan artist is certainly among its greatest exponents.

He worked in Florence in 1584-5, from 1586 in Siena, and in 1590 returned to his hometown of Mantua, where he established his studio. He reproduced drawings by various artists on various media with great fidelity: he was inspired, for example, by Domenico Beccafumi and his floors with inlaid designs in Siena Cathedral; three prints were inspired instead by Giambologna's marble sculpture, the Rape of the Sabine Women (Florence, Loggia Lanzi); in 1585 he made prints inspired by Jacopo Ligozzi's paintings and shaded drawings; and in 1591-2 he made others inspired by Alessandro Casolani (1552-1608). His admiration for the woodcuts of the school of Titian is evident in his copies of the Triumph of Faith (the only work published in Rome, c. 1600) and Pharaoh Crossing the Red Sea (Siena, 1589) and in his tendency to make large prints, composed of several sheets bound together. He used to use four overlapping blocks of chiaroscuro; his most ambitious projects remain those composed of 40-50 blocks, such as the Sacrifice of Isaac (1586), taken from a floor by Beccafumi, the Deposition (1595), taken from a painting by Casolani at San Quirico in Siena, and the Triumph of Caesar (1598-9), inspired by the drawings of Bernardo Malpizzi, who in turn was influenced by cartoons by Mantegna (London, Hampton Court, Royal Collection). The fact that Andreani dedicated his prints to many people, as evidenced by the inscriptions on his own works, suggests that he had difficulty finding a single patron, although for a brief period he benefited from the benevolence of the Gonzagas. This difficulty with patrons no doubt underlies the fact that he very often reprinted and, where required, carved old blocks purchased from Niccolò Vicentino.

Bibliografia

Bartsch, Le Peintre graveur, XII.30.4; Alfredo Petrucci - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 3); Jamie Gabbarelli, Andrea Andreani c. 1580 – 1610, in Naoko Takahatake, 'The chiaroscuro woodcut in Renaisssance Italy', Los Angeles 2018, pp. 222-255; B. Barryte, Myth, Allegory and Faith. The Kirk Edward Long Collection of Mannerist Prints, Cinisello Balsamo, 2015, n. 153.