Angelica and Medoro
c. 1570
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
29.9 × 20.9 cm (11 13/16 × 8 1/4 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
21314
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
It is thought that this may be the first depiction of an episode from Ariosto's poem Orlando Furioso in which Orlando's madness is precipitated when his beloved, the Princess Angelica of Cathay, falls in love with the page Medoro. The immensely popular poem, first published in 1532, existed in over one hundred Italian editions by the end of that century.
About the Artist
Giorgio Ghisi · 1520–1582
Giorgio Ghisi (c. 1520–1582) was one of the most accomplished engravers of the Italian Renaissance, renowned for translating the monumental compositions of Raphael, Giulio Romano, and Michelangelo into the exacting medium of the burin. Born in Mantua, he trained in an environment shaped by the legacy of Giulio Romano's decoration of the Palazzo del Te, and the grandeur of that Mannerist tradition ...