Liefdespaar

About this artwork

collector's mark: Lugt 240

Art Historical Context

**Liefdespaar (Lovers)** by Parmigianino invites visitors into the graceful world of Italian Mannerism. Created by Francesco Mazzola, known as Parmigianino (1503–1540), this intimate etching measures just 147 mm high by 104 mm wide, perfect for close contemplation. The title, Dutch for "love couple," a tender depiction of romantic embrace, capturing the era's fascination with idealized human forms and emotion. Parmigianino was a pioneering etcher, mastering the technique early in the 16th century, where acid etches intricate lines into a metal plate for reproductions of unmatched delicacy. Hi...

About the Artist

Parmigianino · 1503–1540

Parmigianino (1503–1540), born Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, was an Italian painter and printmaker who became one of the most influential figures of the first generation of Mannerist artists. Orphaned before his second birthday, he was raised by his painter uncles in Parma and showed extraordinary precocity, completing a major altarpiece by age eighteen. His elegant, sophisticated style—charac...