Image

RISDM 57-002.tif
RISDM 57-002.tif
RISDM 57-002 back.tif
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Agostino Carracci

Saint Jerome

Description

Maker

Agostino Carracci (Italian, 1557-1602), engraver (printmaker)
After Francesco Vanni (Italian, 1563-1610), designer

Title

Saint Jerome

Year

ca. 1595

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

engraving

Supports

Dimensions

Plate: 19.7 x 14.9 cm (7 3/4 x 5 7/8 inches)

Identification

State

state ii

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

57.002

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

This engraving after a now lost composition by Francesco Vanni reflects Agostino Carracci’s close study of works by Cornelis Cort and particularly Hendrick Goltzius. Agostino used few types of marks, emphasizing the swell of the lines and the open spacing between them, which corresponds to the openness and elongation of figures in paintings by Vanni. Sketchy in its appearance, the style may have been intended to imitate that of a drawing rather than a painting.

St. Jerome is one of the Doctors of the Church responsible for a Latin revision of the Bible. Following convention, he is shown as an ascetic in the desert, where he immersed himself in deep meditation and study. The verses address the contemplation of death, which is reinforced by the prevalent skull in the foreground.

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

Agostino Carracci (Italian, 1557-1602), engraver (printmaker)
After Francesco Vanni (Italian, 1563-1610), designer
Saint Jerome, ca. 1595
Engraving
Plate: 19.7 x 14.9 cm (7 3/4 x 5 7/8 inches)
Museum Works of Art Fund 57.002

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