The Visitation

Art Historical Context

### The Visitation Behold *The Visitation*, a masterful 16th-century engraving the tender biblical moment when the Virgin Mary visits her cousin, announcing the coming of Christ. Attributed to engraver Enea Vico a design by the renowned Florentine Renaissance master Andrea del Sarto (6–1530), with publication by Antonio Salamanca and Antoniofreri, this 1561 print measures an impressive 11 1316 x 16 5/16 inches. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum Art's Drawings and Prints department (gift of Helen J. Baker, 1937), it exemplifies how del Sarto's graceful Mannerist style—marked by elegant figures, soft modeling, and emotional depth—was disseminated across Europe through printmaking. Engraving, an intaglio technique where lines are incised into a metal plate and inked under pressure, allowed for precise reproduction of paintings like del Sarto's famous fresco cycle at Santissima Annunziata in Florence. This medium revolutionized art access in the Renaissance, enabling collectors far from Italy to own affordable, detailed copies of sacred scenes. Vico's skilled burin work brings del Sarto's luminous drapery and serene expressions to life, highlighting the era's focus on humanism within religious narrative. A poignant reminder of faith and familial bonds, *The Visitation* bridges painting and print worlds, inviting visitors to appreciate the collaborative genius behind Renaissance dissemination of beauty.

About the Artist

Enea Vico|Andrea del Sarto (Andrea d'Agnolo)|Antonio Salamanca|Antonio Lafreri · 1523–1567

Enea Vico (1523–1567) was born in Parma and came of age during the final, energetic decades of Italian Renaissance printmaking. By 1541 he had made his way to Rome, where he entered the orbit of the engraver and publisher Tommaso Barlacchi and began his professional career. In Rome, Vico encountered the work of the most celebrated printmakers of the preceding generation—Marcantonio Raimondi, Agost...