Adoration of the Magi, 1530-1561
Attributed to Battista Francoexpand_more
Engraving and etchingexpand_more
Proceeds from the 2012 Minneapolis Print and Drawing Fairexpand_more 2012.56.1
Not on Viewexpand_more
A late Renaissance Mannerist, Battista Franco was a prolific draftsman, painter, and printmaker. He led an itinerant career, working extensively outside his native Venice, in Rome, Florence, and Urbino. Franco's graphic work often drew more acclaim than his paintings. In his prints, his combination of etching with engraving represents an important shift in printmaking practice in Italy after the sack of Rome in 1527, when painter-printmakers (peintre-graveurs) such as Parmigianino and Battista Franco began to experiment with etching. By the end of the century, etching, because of its technical ease and freedom definitively surpassed engraving as the medium of choice for painters making prints. The Adoration of the Magi represents the beginning of this change. Franco executed most of the scene in engraving, and then introduced a large etched tree on the right side of the composition. It is evident from the tree why the light, spontaneous drawing-like quality of etching was so appealing to artists, and particularly suitable for landscapes. Whereas the swelling burin lines, meticulous crosshatching, and elegant parallel lines in the rest of the scene demonstrate the precision, artifice, and polished sumptuousness of engraving. This discrete combination of techniques is quite unique and vividly illuminates a critical moment in the history of printmaking
Details
- Title
- Adoration of the Magi
- Artist Life
- (Venice), c. 1510-1561
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2012.56.1
- Provenance
- Paul II Praun (1548-1616), Nuremberg; by descent, Nuremberg (until 1801; sold to Frauenholz); Johann Friedrich Frauenholz, Nuremberg (sold to Fries); Count Moritz von Fries, cf. Lugt 2903, Vienna (before February 1802-1824, with the signature of Fries' curator Franz Rechberger, Vienna, Lugt 2133 with the date 1802; his sale, C.S. Roos, J. de Vries, A. Brondgeest, E.M. Engelberts, Amsterdam, June 21, 1824, Omslag (portfolio) 5 (recte 7), no. 50, sold, with nos. 33-51 for 70 guilders, to Brondgeest. [Hill-Stone, New York, until 1994; sold to Breinins]; Rose-Helen and Goodwin Breinin, New York (1994-d.2011; sold to Boerner); [C.G. Boerner, New York, 2011-12; sold to MIA]
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Bartsch, XVI.154.2 i/iii
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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