2007.32: Madonna Adored by Saints of the Dominican Order

Identification and Creation

Object Number

2007.32

People

Agostino Veneziano, Italian (Venice c. 1490 - after 1536 Rome)

Title

Madonna Adored by Saints of the Dominican Order

Classification

Prints

Work Type

print

Date

c. 1516 - 1540s

Culture

Italian

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/318197

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Engraving, printed à la poupée in red and black ink, on antique laid paper

Technique

Engraving

Dimensions

sheet: 39.8 x 22.9 cm (15 11/16 x 9 in.)

Inscriptions and Marks

• inscription: verso: old collector's annotations in pencil and pen and brown ink

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

State

ii

Standard Reference Number

B. 112 (OB 14, Ramondi)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Acquisition Fund for Prints

Accession Year

2007

Object Number

2007.32

Division

European and American Art

Contact

am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Commentary

This engraving is the earliest known example of an incised copper plate being printed à la poupée. (Ad Stijnman, a scientist at the Nederlands Instituut Collectie, identified the inks as characteristic of the early modern period, although he can't say with certainty when the engraving was printed. The paper is also typical of the sixteenth century.) The technique of printing in color à la poupée was perfected in the second half of the seventeenth century by the Netherlandish artist, Johannes Teyler, and examples of his color printing remain quite rare (although the Fogg has two in its collection). For this engraving, the printer inked in red the lines comprising the figures of the Virgin and Child, and then inked in blue the background architecture and the Dominican saints who surround her, thereby making mother and child the most emphatic elements of the composition. Such a print most likely had a domestic devotional function. Veneziano, the engraver of the composition, was an active member of Marcantonio Raimondi's print workshop which produced reproductive engravings, many after drawings and paintings by Raphael. This unusual printing technique may have been an experiment in the production of a print that was intended to resemble a colored drawing.

Publication History

• Stephan Wolohojian and Alvin L. Clark, Jr., Harvard Art Museum/ Handbook, ed. Stephan Wolohojian, Harvard Art Museum (Cambridge, 2008), p. 78, repr.
• Thomas W. Lentz, ed., Harvard University Art Museums Annual Report 2006-7, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, 2008), p. 26, ill.

Exhibition History

• 32Q: 2540 Renaissance, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/09/2015 - 03/02/2016; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 02/02/2023 - 06/21/2023

Subjects and Contexts

• Collection Highlights
• Google Art Project

Verification Level