The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, after Bandinelli
Medium
Engraving; second state of two
Dimensions
Sheet: 16 15/16 × 22 5/8 in. (43.1 × 57.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
Accession Number
17.3.3496
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the grand tradition of Renaissance printmaking, *The Martyrdom of Lawrence, after Bandinelli (ca. 1520) captures the dramatic suffering of the early Christian deacon Saint Lawrence, who was martyred by roasting on a gridiron in 258 AD. Engraved by the masterful Marcantonio Raimondi after a design by sculptor Baccio Bandinelli, second-state impression showcases the saint's muscular, nude form twisted in agony amid flames and tormentors, embodying the era's fascination with heroic male anatomy and religious pathos. Raimondi, a pioneering engraver from Bologna, revolutionized art disseminatio...
About the Artist
Marcantonio Raimondi|Baccio Bandinelli · 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...