S Pavlvs

About this artwork

height 213 mm x width 139 mm

Art Historical Context

Behold *S Pavlvs*, a masterful engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi, of the greatest printmakers of the High Renaissance. Created between 1517 and 1527, this intimate work measures 213 mm in height by 139 mm in width depicting Saint Paul—a central figure in Christian iconography for his dramatic conversion and epistles. Raimondi's precise lines capture the saint's solemn presence, likely drawing from designs by Raphael, with whom he closely collaborated. Engraving, Raimondi's signature medium, involved incising intricate lines into a copper plate, inking it, and pressing paper to transfer the im...

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...