The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
1551 to 1600
Medium
pen and brown and gray ink over black chalk on laid paper; with irregularly cut and torn patches attached and drawn with compositional corrections in pen and brown ink and black chalk
Dimensions
sheet: 36.7 x 26.8 cm (14 7/16 x 10 9/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Joseph F. McCrindle Collection
Accession Number
2009.70.92
Art Historical Context
Lodovico Carracci's *The Martyrdom Saint Lawrence*, created in the late 16 century, captures a dramatic moment from Christian hagiography: the gruesome execution of the 3rd-century deacon Lawrence on a gridiron, a popular subject in Counter-Reformation art symbolizing faith's triumph over persecution. As a leading figure in Bologna's artistic revival alongside his cousins Annibale and Agostino, Carracci rejected Mannerist excesses for a more naturalistic, classically inspired approach, blending emotional intensity with anatomical precision. This preparatory drawing exemplifies the Carracci wo...
About the Artist
Lodovico Carracci
Lodovico's style is charaterized by being less classical than that of his younger cousins, Agostino and Annibale, his figures have a sense of other-worldliness, and he is more influenced by Mannerist art than his cousins. Like his cousins, he espoused the direct study of nature, especially through figure drawing; he was influenced by the paintings of Correggio and the Venetians.