Tru Ludwig makes the case for the importance of Andrea Mantegna. Italian chiaroscuro woodcuts are discussed with an eye to comparing them to those produced in the North.
In series 2 episode 9, co-hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig continue their conversation about early Italian printmaking with a strong focus on the engravings of Andrea Mantegna. They also talk about chiaroscuro woodcuts, always keeping the North within eyesight.
Images discussed are below along with their credit/institution.
Episode image credit: Andrea Mantegna (Italian, c. 1431-1506). The Entombment, 1465-75. Engraving. Sheet (trimmed within plate): 229 x 439 mm. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.
Lucas Cranach the Elder (Germany, 1472-1553). Saint Christopher, c. 1509. Chiaroscuro woodcut printed in black and red-brown. Image: 11 x 7 1/2 in. (279 x 191 mm.). Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
Ugo da Carpi (Italian, c. 1470-1532), after Titian (Italian, 1489/90-1576). St Jerome in the desert seated facing left, c.1516. Chiaroscuro woodcut printed in two greens and black. Sheet: 156 x 95 mm. British Museum, London.
Ugo da Carpi (Italian, c. 1470-1532), after Parmigianino (Italian, 1503-1540). Diogenes, c. 1527-30. Chiaroscuro woodcut printed from four blocks in gray-green. Image: 18 11/16 x 13 5/8 in. (475 x 346 mm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Antonio Pollaiuolo (Italian, c. 1432-1498). Battle of the Ten Nude Men, c. 1490. Engraving. Sheet (trimmed within platemark): 384 x 589 mm. (15 1/8 x 23 3/16 in.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Andrea Mantegna (Italian, c. 1431-1506). Camera degli Sposi, Gonzaga Ducal Palace, Mantua, Italy.
Andrea Mantegna (Italian, c. 1431-1506). The Entombment, 1465-75. Engraving. Sheet (trimmed within plate): 229 x 439 mm. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.
Ara Pacis Augustae, 13 BCE. Rome.
Andrea Mantegna (Italian, c. 1431-1506). Risen Christ between Saints Andrew and Longinus, c. 1470/75. Engraving. Sheet: 329 x 306 mm. (12 15/16 x 12 1/16 in.). National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Reconstructed image of Andrea Mantegna's fresco for the Ovetari Chapel, Erimitari Church, Padua. The Church was destroyed in WWII.
Andrea Mantegna (Italian, c. 1431-1506). Bacchanal with Silenus, before 1475. Engraving with drypoint. Sheet: 12 in. × 17 1/4 in. (305 × 438 mm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Andrea Mantegna (Italian, c. 1431-1506). Bacchanal with a Wine Vat, c. 1470-90. Engraving and drypoint. Sheet: 11 3/4 x 17 3/16 in. (299 x 437 mm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528). The Fall of Man or Adam and Eve, 1504. Engraving. 25.1 x 20 cm (9 7/8 x 7 7/8 in). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Andrea Mantegna (Italian, c. 1431-1506). Battle of the Sea Gods, 1470s. Engraving and drypoint. Sheet: 340 x 451 mm. (13 ¼ x 17 ¾ in.). Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis.
Andrea Mantegna (Italian, c. 1431-1506). St Sebastian, c. 1506. Tempera on canvas. 213 x 95 cm. Galleria Franchetti, Ca' d'Oro, Venice.
Johannes de Ketham, author. Fasciculus Medicinae, Venice: 1491. Bound volume with woodcut illustrations.
Andrea Mantegna (Italian, c. 1431-1506). Lamentation over the Dead Christ, c. 1483. Tempera on canvas. 680 x 810 mm. Pinacoteca di Brera, Italy.
Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528). The Virgin with the Swaddled Child, 1520. Engraving. Sheet (trimmed to platemark): 142 × 906 mm. (5 9/16 × 3 3/4 in.). Yale University Art Museum, New Haven.
Andrea Mantegna (Italian, c. 1431-1506). The Virgin and Child, c. 1480-85. Engraving. Plate (trimmed within platemark): 8 1/8 x 8 3/16 in. (206 x 208 mm.); sheet: 10 5/16 x 9 3/16 in. (262 x 233 mm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528). St. Jerome, 1492. Woodcut. 190 x 133 mm. Kupferstichkabinett, Offentliche Kunstsammlung, Basel.
Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528). St. Jerome in His Study, 1514. Engraving. Sheet (trimmed to platemark): 9 11/16 x 7 7/16 in. (246 x 189 mm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Platemark is produced by Ann Shafer
Series one co-host: Ben Levy
Series two co-host: Tru Ludwig
Theme music: Michael Diamond