Image

RISDM 43-400-123.tif
RISDM 43-400-123.tif
RISDM 43-400-123 det.tif
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Marco Dente

Venus Wounded by the Rose's Thorn

Description

Maker

Marco Dente (Italian, ca. 1493-1527), designer
After Raphael (Italian, 1483-1520)

Title

print

Year

ca. 1516

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

engraving

Supports

Dimensions

Plate: 26.4 x 17 cm (10 3/8 x 6 11/16 inches)

Identification

State

state ii

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift in memory of William Babcock Weeden by his children

Object Number

43.400.123

Type

Projects & Publications

Publications

Pub_ID 178 The Brilliant Line v_01.jpg
  • 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.

Read Online ›

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

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

Label copy

Marco Dente studied engraving in the studio of Marcantonio Raimondi. Like his master, he produced engravings almost exclusively after Raphael’s tonal drawings and paintings. Dente’s works were influential in elaborating the taste for Marcantonio’s system, by repeating it almost exactly. Some of Dente’s copperplates were published later in the 16th century by the Roman publisher Antonio Salamanca. This impression is such an example, and was furthermore retouched by the Roman engraver Francesco Villamena.

The engraving depicts Venus pulling a thorn from her foot after running through the forest barefoot. According to the ancient poet Bion of Smyrna (ca. 100 BCE), her blood stained the rose’s petals red. Dente probably reproduced a preparatory drawing for one of the frescoes by Raphael (or perhaps his pupil Giulio Romano) found in the bathroom of Cardinal Bibbiena in the Vatican Palace.

Prints and Drawings with a Classical Reference
Dec 15, 1965 – Jan 09, 1966

Use & Feedback

Image use

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

Tombstone

Marco Dente (Italian, ca. 1493-1527), designer
After Raphael (Italian, 1483-1520)
print, ca. 1516
Engraving
Plate: 26.4 x 17 cm (10 3/8 x 6 11/16 inches)
Gift in memory of William Babcock Weeden by his children 43.400.123

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