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Lot Essay
The present sheet gives us evidence of the great skills of Marco Dente da Ravenna as an engraver, skills already praised at the time by the writer Anton Francesco Doni and twice by Vasari in his Vite. He was active in the circle of Marcantonio and Raphael in 1515 and worked in the Capital until he was killed, in 1527, during the sack of Rome. He greatly contributed to the diffusion of Raphael's classical style but his repertoire also included other sources of inspiration, such as antique sculptures and bas-reliefs (a fine impression of his Laocoön, was recently sold in these rooms, 28 January 2021, lot 5).
The engraving of Saint Michael derives from a pen and ink drawing in Oslo, Nasjonalgalleriet (inv. no. 15281), initially ascribed by Oberhuber to Giovanni Francesco Penni and then 'restituted' by the same to Raphael. Presumbaly, the drawing was a first sketch for Raphael's painting from 1518, now in the Louvre. The painting was donated together with the Holy Family, by the same hand, from Pope Leone X and the Duke of Urbino, Lorenzo de' Medici, to Francois I, King of France, as a political gift (Saint Michael, the Archangel, was the patron angel of France and guardian of the Church and the King, as regent of the Order of the Saint, was summoned to play the same role of protector).
The Saint Michael of the painting and the one of the drawing (and, consequently, of the engraving), differ greatly in the formulation and unfolding of the action: in the painting the angel is presented in a sweeping, powerful motion while descending from above to inflict the fatal wound on the devil. Instead, the drawing depicts the following moment of the Saint's triumph over Satan. The pose of the angel recalls the classical statuary, with a pronounced use of the contrapposto. His raised arm, and the slightly elevated leg that crushes the devil, cause a gentle rotation of the body. The sculptural yet fluid formulation of the drawing is carefully rendered in the engraving by Dente: with the strong contrast of the chiaroscuro, the engraver accentuates the bust rotation. The power unleashed by the figure is emphasized even more, with the addition a glowing halo behind the head of the saint. The engraving features rocks in the background, a landscape motif lacking in the drawing but included in the painting. Compared to his previous engravings depicting Venus - after designs by Raphael for the Stufetta Bibbiena at the Vatican -, the elements in the present engravings are less subordinate to a heavy definition of the countors, yet their power wells up from inside the body.
Another very similar engraving of the same subject was made by Agostino Veneziano, the other notable engraver in the circle of Marcantonio Raimondi. Bartsch and Passavant considered Agostino's engraving antecedent to that of Marco Dente. From a closer inspection of the details, the contrary is, in fact, more likely. In Veneziano's version, the pose and movement of the bodies seem feeble and more unsteady, the rendition of the rotation, the expressions and the elements appear flattened by a less accurate modelling. Furthermore the effect of light on the body and wings of the Saint is displayed flat and inarticulate in Veneziano's version, while Marco Dente achieves a remarkable shadow play, particularly striking in early impressions such as the present one.
The engraving of Saint Michael derives from a pen and ink drawing in Oslo, Nasjonalgalleriet (inv. no. 15281), initially ascribed by Oberhuber to Giovanni Francesco Penni and then 'restituted' by the same to Raphael. Presumbaly, the drawing was a first sketch for Raphael's painting from 1518, now in the Louvre. The painting was donated together with the Holy Family, by the same hand, from Pope Leone X and the Duke of Urbino, Lorenzo de' Medici, to Francois I, King of France, as a political gift (Saint Michael, the Archangel, was the patron angel of France and guardian of the Church and the King, as regent of the Order of the Saint, was summoned to play the same role of protector).
The Saint Michael of the painting and the one of the drawing (and, consequently, of the engraving), differ greatly in the formulation and unfolding of the action: in the painting the angel is presented in a sweeping, powerful motion while descending from above to inflict the fatal wound on the devil. Instead, the drawing depicts the following moment of the Saint's triumph over Satan. The pose of the angel recalls the classical statuary, with a pronounced use of the contrapposto. His raised arm, and the slightly elevated leg that crushes the devil, cause a gentle rotation of the body. The sculptural yet fluid formulation of the drawing is carefully rendered in the engraving by Dente: with the strong contrast of the chiaroscuro, the engraver accentuates the bust rotation. The power unleashed by the figure is emphasized even more, with the addition a glowing halo behind the head of the saint. The engraving features rocks in the background, a landscape motif lacking in the drawing but included in the painting. Compared to his previous engravings depicting Venus - after designs by Raphael for the Stufetta Bibbiena at the Vatican -, the elements in the present engravings are less subordinate to a heavy definition of the countors, yet their power wells up from inside the body.
Another very similar engraving of the same subject was made by Agostino Veneziano, the other notable engraver in the circle of Marcantonio Raimondi. Bartsch and Passavant considered Agostino's engraving antecedent to that of Marco Dente. From a closer inspection of the details, the contrary is, in fact, more likely. In Veneziano's version, the pose and movement of the bodies seem feeble and more unsteady, the rendition of the rotation, the expressions and the elements appear flattened by a less accurate modelling. Furthermore the effect of light on the body and wings of the Saint is displayed flat and inarticulate in Veneziano's version, while Marco Dente achieves a remarkable shadow play, particularly striking in early impressions such as the present one.