Marco Dente, designer

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.