Harvard Art Museums > 2007.41: The Prison Prints Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"The Prison (? Giorgio Ghisi)(After Giulio Romano) , 2007.41,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Nov 17, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/316187. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2007.41 People ? Giorgio Ghisi, Italian (Mantua 1520 - 1582 Mantua) After Giulio Romano, Italian (Rome 1499? - 1546 Mantua) Title The Prison Classification Prints Work Type print Date 16th century Culture Italian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/316187 Physical Descriptions Medium Engraving on cream antique laid paper Technique Engraving Dimensions plate and sheet: 27.5 x 41.3 cm (10 13/16 x 16 1/4 in.) Inscriptions and Marks Signed: l.l., I.R Provenance Recorded Ownership History R. E. Lewis & Daughter Original Prints. State, Edition, Standard Reference Number Standard Reference Number B 66 Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of William S. Lieberman Accession Year 2007 Object Number 2007.41 Division European and American Art Contact am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Commentary Giorgio Ghisi was a mid-sixteenth century artist from Mantua who worked engraved metal both as a printer and a damascener (decorating armor). Mainly a reproductive printmaker, he often copied designs after Giulio Romano, who was the court artist at the Mantuan court. The Prison is usually ascribed to Ghisi due to its relief-like style and crisp handling of musculature, all of which were similar to that of his teacher, Giovanni Battista Scultori. Ghisi also produced other prints after paintings by Romano on the subject of prisons. The artist went to Rome in the company of the artist, architect and scholar Giovanni Battista Bertani, and later in 1556, Ghisi produced the striking Vision of Ezekiel after Bertani's design. This bleak image is a literal dance of death with cadavers, skeletons and even cherubim. It illustrates the biblical verse, Ezekiel (37:7): "So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone." The text on the banner held aloft by the cherubs comes from later in the Ezekiel chapter, and refers to the heavenward trajectory of the muscle and flesh that has been severed from those shaking bones. This print is more sophisticated in its spatial depth and the details of the graveyard background than The Prison, and its blank walls with one barred window. Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
