19/09/2001
by Andrew Moore

From the 27^th September to the 6^th January, the British Museum in London will be showing the exhibition The Print in Italy 1550-1620 with engravings by around 90 artists, both Italian and foreign engravers. Of particular note are Giorgio Ghisi, Federico Barocci, Annibale and Agostino Carracci, Francesco Villamena and the Flemish artists Cornelis Cort and Aegidius Sadeler who worked in Italy in this period. Prints produced had a huge impact in disseminating art ideas across Europe and throughout the peninsular, especially after the publication of seminal works such as Andrea Mantegna’s engraving The Battle of the Sea Gods of 1490 and Ugo da Carpi’s chiaroscuro woodcut Hero and Sibyl in 1518.

The period between 1550 and 1620 saw the emergence of large scale commercial print publishing in Italy, taking its inspiration from Christopher Plantin and the Plantin-Moretus Press (Europe’s biggest printing press in the 16^th century), Hieronymus Cock and Cornelis Galle, who all operated in Antwerp. Cornelis Galle temporarily operated a printing press in Rome from 1597-1600. In Italy printing gravitated to centres of book publishing, notably Venice, such as presses run by Ferrando and Donato Bertelli and Gian Franco Camocio, whilst Marcello Clodio and Giovanni Orlandi were the leading publishers of engravings in Rome. Bologna (with its associations to the University) and Siena were also important centres of printing. Italian presses were typically artisan affairs however, family run enterprises producing mythological and devotional images, from allegories, erotica, records of antiquities, to "low-life" depictions of street brawls, architectural vedute and of course reproductions of important paintings.

Perhaps the best known prints produced by an Italian artist, are those by Marcantonio Raimondi, who reproduced works by Raphael, Michelangelo, Giulio Romano, Baccio Bandinelli and Dürer thus spreading the influences of Italian and Northern art across the Alps. Raimondi and Giorgio Ghisi (1520-1582) both collaborated with Raphael to copy his designs and paintings, but it is the latter of these two artists who now commands better prices due to his level of individual invention. Ghisi originated from Mantua and after having worked in Antwerp and Paris, he returned to his hometown, being employed as a court artist by the Gonzaga family. His Allegoria della Vita, if in a good state of conservation can make up to $ 25,000 (€ 27,850) (according to Lorenza Salamon, a specialist at the Milan Old Master etchings gallery, Printsonweb), whilst reproduction works after Raphael are valued in the $ 4,000-10,000 region (€ 4,450-11,140). Evidence of his highly prized works was seen at the Berlin auction house Gerda Bassenge in November 2000 when Venus and Adoni sold for $ 16,396 (€ 17,500) against a top-end estimate of $ 526 (€ 640).

Besides Ghisi, the other Italian Renaissance printer in the British Museum exhibition, whose work is considerably sought after on the prints market, is Federico Barocci (1535-1612), an important painter in his own right, with his key etching (if in excellent condition and quality) being The Annunciation which is capable of exceeding $ 22,000 (€ 24,500). Another key etching is The Vision of Saint Anthony, valued at $ 10,000 (€ 11,140). As for the Carracci and despite their fame, print prices stay low, typically around the $ 500–3,000 (€ 560-3,200) mark due to there being so many later edition reprints, irrespective of the quality of draughtsmanship or condition.

Titian directly employed the Flemish printer Cornelis Cort (1533-1578) to engrave eight plates after his compositions. Cort also reproduced works by Muziano and the Dutch painter Frans Floris. The huge number of later re-strikes by other later artists, after Cort, attests to his popularity, with a degree of accuracy superior to many of his rivals. An indication of his skill is given by the intricate border decoration in The Callumany of Apelles which out surpassed its standard estimate of $ 1,500-2,000 (€ 1,670-2,230) to sell for $ 6,325 (€ 7,050) at Christie’s, New York on the 9^th of May 1994. His best result at auction in the last decade was for The Battle of Scipio against Hannibal, called "the Battle of the Elephants" from 1570 which sold within estimate for $ 9,256 (€ 10,310) at Christie’s, London in December 1992. Another artist in the exhibition who originated from Antwerp but worked in Italy, is Aegidius Sadeler (1570-1629) whose original prints are often topographical views, such as Roman ruins. However these usually sell from as low as $ 40 (€ 44) for small emblematic works up to $ 2,500 (€ 2,780) for architectural vedute.

In the British Museum show, Francesco Villamena (1565-1624) was a chief exponent of low-life genre scenes as seen by his Io sono quel geminian caldarostaro which depicts a rowdy food trader and is included in the British Museum show. This work shows the influence of Hans van Haarlem who specialised in kermesse depictions, (or scenes of festive peasants). This work has an auction price ranging from $ 300-500 (€ 334-560) due to its frequent showings at auction. Villamena was an engraver, designer, drawing teacher and dealer in antiquities, and highly regarded for engraving plates for other artists. However despite growing art historical research into the works of the artist, his etchings rarely go for sale beyond $ 1,500 (€ 1,670).