Unidentified Renaissance period copyist’s engraving of Agostino Veneziano’s “St Mark”, 1518–20

Unidentified 16^th century printmaker (fl. 1518–20)

“St Mark”, 1518–20, copy in reverse after Agostino Veneziano (aka Agostino dei Musi) (fl.1509–36), after Giulio Romano (1499-1546), from the series “The Evangelists”

Engraving on laid paper trimmed along the platemark.

Size: (sheet) 25 x 18.3 cm

Inscribed on the further left cloud “A.V.”

Bartsch XIV.83.94 (copy in reverse); TIB 26 (14). 04A-1 (83) (Walter L Strauss, ed. 1979, “The Illustrated Bartsch”, vol. 26, p. 126); K. Oberhuber, ed. 1999, “Roma e lo stile classico di Raffaello”, Milan, cat.22-25.

The British Museum offers the following discussion of this copy in reverse:

“St Mark, sitting within a penumbra of light, on the back of a winged lion atop a cloud, reading a scroll; after Giulio Romano Engraving” (http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1535015&partId=1&searchText=1873,0809.732.&page=1)

Condition: superb impression in near faultless condition trimmed at the platemark.

I am selling this Renaissance period engraved copy in reverse of Agostino Veneziano’s engraving (after Giulio Romano) by a contemporary artist of Veneziano for AU$345 (currently US$160.67/EUR244.54/GBP209.45 at the time of this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world.

If you are interested in purchasing this lifetime impression of a fascinating Renaissance period copyist’s engraving, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

Sometimes when I start researching a print I think that my explorations will be over very quickly. In the case of this print, my vision of eating a small sample of chocolates in bed for the evening was shattered very early after finding that this engraving was actually a print in reverse that copied an engraving by the famous copyist (aka reproductive printmaker), Agostino Veneziano who copied the original design by Giulio Romano.

The interesting thing about reproductive printmakers of the time that this print was executed was that they did not copy paintings hanging (or frescoed) on a wall at all. Instead—with only a few exceptions—they only worked from studies of large artworks. This may come as a surprise and perhaps even a shock to think that the most famous of all the reproductive printmakers, Marcantonio Raimondi (c.1470/82– c.1534), who (arguably) was also the first to engage in copying other artist’s work—notably Raphael—never inscribed a plate with the “real” painting in front of him. Nevertheless, that’s the truth! In short, all the reproductive works by artists in the circle of Raimondi industriously copied copies of the original works that they were reproducing. I find this fascinating and for those who wish to read more about the reproductive printmakers of this time and their artistic practices, I strongly recommend curling up in bed with an enormous box of chocolates and Michael Bury’s (2001) “The Print in Italy 1550–1620."