Christ, the Virgin, and Saint John the Baptist with Saints Paul and Catherine
1520-/25
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/plate: 42.5 × 29 cm (16 3/4 × 11 7/16 in.); Sheet: 43 × 29.5 cm (16 15/16 × 11 5/8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
51514
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Marcantonio Raimondi’s gleaming yet darkly printed engraving shows an unusual saintly grouping. Here the adult Saint John the Baptist sits enthroned with the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ in a cloud of glory. John had played a vital role in preparing Christ for the Crucifixion by baptizing him in the river Jordan. The Baptist’s subsequent martyrdom by beheading then elevated him to preside alongside Christ. The saints shown below, Paul and Catherine, underwent their own conversion experiences and...
About the Artist
Marcantonio Raimondi · 1475–1534
Marcantonio Raimondi (c. 1480–1534), born near Bologna, Italy, emerged as one of the Renaissance's premier engravers, revolutionizing printmaking through his mastery of reproductive techniques. He trained in the workshop of the goldsmith, painter, and niellist Francesco Francia, whose influence is evident in his early engravings, such as the goldsmith-like shading in *Pyramus and Thisbe* (1505), h...