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Giorgio Ghisi, engraver

Allegory of Life, 1561

Description

Maker

  • Giorgio Ghisi, 1520-1582, Italian, engraver

Title

Allegory of Life

Year

1561

Medium

Engraving, trimmed within platemark

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • engraving

Supports

  • medium weight tan laid paper

Dimensions

Plate: 37.8 x 54.1 cm (14 7/8 x 21 5/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Lettered LL: "Raphaelis Urbinatis Inventum. / Philippus Datus Animi Gratia / Fieri Iussit"; on tablets, within image: "Sedet Aeternum / que Sedebit Infoelix" and "Giorgius / Ghisi / Ma.t / .F. 1.5.6.1"; and LR: "Tu Ne Cede Malis: Sed [...]ntra Audentior Ito"

Identification

State

ii/vi

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Prints

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

57.032

Projects & Publications

Publications

The Brilliant Line

Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480-1650
Read Online

La Peintre Graveur, 1803-1821

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

The Brilliant Line

September 18, 2009 - January 3, 2010

This engraving—with its myriad effects, such as shining stars, turbulent water, and a distant rainbow—exhibits Giorgio Ghisi’s organized, rich chiaroscuro approach at its finest. By varying the direction and density of lines, Ghisi retained the clarity of composition even while filling every inch of the plate in a kind of horror vacui. Such overall tonal coverage would become the standard for reproductive engravings in the late 16th and 17th centuries.

A tablet at the lower left claims Raphael as the inventor, but scholars are not convinced that he devised the print (made several decades after his death); rather, it is probably of Ghisi’s own invention. The engraving is an allegory, which, in the most general terms, depicts the two paths of good and evil. The bearded man, at left, has badly guided the boat of his own existence to a shore populated by jagged peaks and ferocious beasts. He reaches out toward a woman on the other side of a turbulent sea. She may represent Reason, or perhaps Glory, as she rests her hand on a palm tree, a symbol of victory. A rainbow in the distance intimates the possibility of hope and perhaps salvation. Two tablets featuring quotes from Virgil’s Aeneid near each of the figures reference unrequited love, adding even more mystery to the ultimate meaning of the image.

The Landscape Tradition in Printmaking

January 19 - April 22, 1990

Prints and Drawings with a Classical Reference

December 15, 1965 - January 9, 1966

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Allegory of Life with the accession number of 57.032. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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