Francesco Villamena, engraver

After the Carracci brothers (Annibale, Agostino, and Lucovico) relocated to Rome from Bologna in 1597, Francesco Villamena trained with them and worked for them on several projects. His oversize, sculptural forms, created with thick, controlled burin strokes, recall Agostino Carracci, but his engravings also exhibit an open and simplified organization of marks. Notice the lines placed at extreme angles in the central, shining textile, and the fact that there is virtually no dotting.

The presentation of Christ at the Temple is described in the Gospel as Mary and Joseph’s visit to the Temple of Jerusalem forty days after the birth, performed in obedience with the Law of Moses. Veronese’s painting was in situ in the church of San Sebastiano in Venice in 1560. The print was dedicated to Marcello Vestrio Barbiano, secretary to Clement VIII (1592–1605).