Saint Paul Preaching at Athens
1517/20
Medium
Engraving in black on cream laid paper
Dimensions
Image/sheet, trimmed within platemark: 26.9 × 35.6 cm (10 5/8 × 14 1/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
106578
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Based on a painting by Raphael, this print depicts Saint Paul’s sermon in Athens. The speech took place at Areopagus, an ancient court site in Greece, and centered on themes of idolatry and false worship. The power of the Paul’s words is visible: though a few in the crowd have turned their heads toward the statue in the background, most are attending to the speaker, and the man kneeling in the lower-right corner seems especially inspired.
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...