The Tomb of a Bishop
Battista Angolo del Moro
1540/45
Medium
Etching on paper
Dimensions
36 × 25.2 cm (14 3/16 × 9 15/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
12073
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
During the Counter-Reformation, the sense of touch influenced religious experience as much as if not more than sight. In this etching of a bishop’s elaborate sculptural resting place, the sorrowing putti embrace the effigy of the deceased and weave their hands and arms in and out of holes in the base of the sarcophagus. Parmigianino’s elongated bodies accentuate the tactility of the composition and contribute to the composition’s emotional resonance. While the bishop’s identity remains unknown (...