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Agostino Carracci

Portrait of Titian

Maker

Agostino Carracci (Italian, 1557-1602), engraver (printmaker)
After Titian (Italian

Title

Portrait of Titian

Year

1587

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

engraving

Supports

Dimensions

Plate: 32.1 x 23.2 cm (12 5/8 x 9 1/8 inches)

Identification

State

state iii

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Bequest of Isaac C. Bates

Object Number

13.1155

Type

Publications

  • Books

The Brilliant Line: Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480-1650

Renaissance engravings are objects of exquisite beauty and incomparable intricacy that are composed entirely of lines. Artists began using this intaglio process in Europe as early as 1430. This captivating catalogue focuses on the height of the medium, from 1480 to 1650, when engravers made dramatic and rapid visual changes to engraving technique as they responded to the demands of reproducing artworks in other media. The Brilliant Line follows these visual transformations and offers new insight into the special inventiveness and technical virtuosity of Renaissance and Baroque (Early Modern) engravers. The three essays discuss how engraving’s restrictive materials and the physical process of engraving informed its visual language; the context for the spread of particular engraving styles throughout Europe; and the interests, knowledge, and skills that Renaissance viewers applied when viewing and comparing engravings by style or school.

Exhibition History

The Brilliant Line
Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480-1650
Sep 18, 2009 – Jan 03, 2010

Label copy

Although Agostino Carracci of Bologna was a direct descendent of Marcantonio’s style of engraving (the straight cross-hatching on the ear reveals this allegiance), by 1587 he had begun to integrate international engraving techniques. Here, he employed a broad burin and elegant, long curved lines spaced some distance apart to achieve the tactile qualities of the fur collar and satin coat. In this way, the work responds to the coloristic and textural demands of Venetian painting. The lozenge pattern on the painter’s skin and the abandonment of a strict contour on the face’s left edge indicate that he looked at Cornelis Cort’s engravings quite closely, if still with some hesitancy.

The print reproduces a self-portrait by Titian (now in Berlin). Agostino probably worked directly from the painting, which he significantly cropped, and from which he altered the clothing in order to provide clearer tactile and tonal contrasts.

Engravings of the 15th and 16th Centuries
Nov 10, 1948 – Feb 04, 1949

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Agostino Carracci (Italian, 1557-1602), engraver (printmaker)
After Titian (Italian
Venetian, 1488/90-1576), designer
Portrait of Titian, 1587
Engraving
Plate: 32.1 x 23.2 cm (12 5/8 x 9 1/8 inches)
Bequest of Isaac C. Bates 13.1155

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