A Closer Look at Mantegna's Prints

Author(s): Shelley Fletcher

Source: Print Quarterly , MARCH 2001, Vol. 18, No. 1 (MARCH 2001), pp. 3-41
Published by: Print Quarterly Publications

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41825952

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 A Closer Look at Mantegna's Prints

Shelley Fletcher

Any scholarly discussion of the engravings attributed assessment in 1901 strongly argued for attribution of
to Andrea Mantegna is likely to split into two camps. At the 'core group' engravings to Mantegna and formed
its most basic, there is the question of authorship. Even the basis of modern scholarly thought on the subject
though no works exist that are signed by him or defin- until very recently. Furthermore, these seven engrav-
itively documented as his, most scholars agree that ings are indisputably the most impressive and powerful
Mantegna engraved at least seven prints (hereafter of the twenty to forty prints that have! at one time or
called the core group engravings): the Entombment , the other been attributed to Mantegna.2
Risen Christ with St Andrew and Longinus, the Bacchanal with On the other hand, the proposition that Mantegna
Wine Vat, the Bacchanal with Silenus , the two plates of the hired professional engravers to work from his drawings
Battle of the Sea Gods and the Virgin and Child . Scholars of is supported by the lack of contemporary evidence to
the opposing view believe that Mantegna, famous as a prove that Mantegna himself engraved. The oft-men-
painter even in his own day and having no known his- tioned and variously interpreted letter of September
tory of goldsmithing or metalworking, would not have 1475, from the engraver Simone di Ardizzone to
attempted the daunting task of learning to engrave.1 Ludovico Gonzaga about Mantegna's apparent desire
Instead, they believe that Mantegna would have hired to hire Simone as an engraver, does not prove
one or more engravers to perform the work of incising Mantegna's direct involvement as an engraver and
plates from his drawings. In the absence of auto- may indicate just the opposite. Gerolamo Casio's state-
graphed works, and in view of the renewed scholarly ment of 1506, made six weeks after Mantegna's death,
debate based on stylistic and documentary analysis, mentions that he ' intaglio il Christo 3 (engraved the
this article attempts to clarify and identify certain tech- Christ). This document is cited by Landau in defence
nical characteristics of the hand in the core group. It of Mantegna's printmaking, but as Clifford Brown,
will also try to differentiate this hand from some of who first published this documentation, points out,
those in prints 'in the manner of' Mantegna. Casio's words are 'somewhat obscure' and their mean-
The engravings in question have been scrutinized ing questionable.3 This absence of credible document-
for centuries to determine their attribution. The view ed material proving Mantegna's activity as an engraver
that Mantegna engraved seven prints was already is particularly troublesome since, as a humanist and
recorded by Giorgio Vasari in 1550. Kristeller's clear friend of many poets and writers, Mantegna is one of

i. S. Boorsch, 'Mantegna and his Printmakers', Andrea Mantegna ,

This lengthy research project has involved the help of many insti-
tutions and individuals: first and foremost, the National Gallery of edited by J. Martineau, London 1992, pp. 56-66; E. Lincoln,
Art for allowing me the opportunity to pursue it; the Robert H. 'Mantegna's Culture oîlÀnt', Art History, xvi, 1993, pp. 33-60; E.
Smith Fellowship of the National Gallery of Art, for providing theTietze-Conrat, Mantegna: Paintings, Drawings, Engravings , London
original funds to investigate the topic; the Samuel H. Kress1955 and idem, 'Was Mantegna an Engraver?', Gazette des Beaux-
Foundation, for travel funds enabling me to document details of Arts , XXIV, 1943, pp. 375-81.
innumerable impressions; and, finally, the American Academy2. in P. Kristeller, Andrea Mantegna , English edition, London 1901; for
Rome for allowing me the invaluable gift of time to think and change discussions and history of attributions see M. J. Zucker, Early
my mind. Individuals who have been a great source of inspiration Italian Masters , The Illustrated Bartsch , xxv, New York 1984, pp.
and guidance include Suzanne Boorsch, Keith Christiansen, 73-78, and S. Boorsch, op. cit., pp. 56-66.
Marjorie Cohn, David Landau, Ross Merrill, David Schorr and, 3. For one translation and interpretation of Simone s letter, see R.
most recently, Peter Parshall, who had the unenviable task of reading W. Lightbown, Mantegna , Oxford, Berkeley and Los Angeles
my drafts. The Department of Imaging and Visual Services at the 1986, pp. 234-36; also Landau, 'Mantegna as Printmaker', in
National Gallery of Art is to be commended for much careful pro-Martineau, op. cit., pp. 45-55. See also Boorsch 's contrasting
cessing of hundreds of slides and photographs. Last but not least, opinions
I in Martineau, op. cit., and a concise critique of their
would like to thank the consummate professionals who are my staff:interpretations by K. Christiansen, 'The Case for Mantegna as
Connie McCabe (who revised part of an early draft), Judy Walsh, Printmaker', the Burlington Magazine, cxxxv, 1993, pp. 604-12; C.
Yoonjoo Strumfels and, most of all, Lehua Fisher, who invested much Brown, 'Andrea Mantegna and the Cornaro of Venice', the
time and creative effort in scanning and diagramming the illustra-Burlington Magazine, cxvi, 1974, pp. 101-03.
tions as well as helping with innumerable other tasks.

PRINT QUARTERLY, XVIII, 200I, I

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 4 MANTEGNA

the few to Mantegna and his contribution to engraving over art

fifteenth-century
written the past century.
during his Landau's more technical interests,
lifetime.4
In addition to
such as histhe issue
theories about the use of drypoint, the of
print- au
questions relating
ing apparatus, the kind ofto the
tools that might have been chr
dating of these engravings.
used, etc., are provocative and thoughtful. His opinions
opinion is that
broaden the they were
debate to a more technical plane, where exe
developing from the
we can begin to discuss and comparefiner-lin
these engravings
Entombment and the
using other than Risen
purely stylistic criteria. Chri
of the Sea GodsUntil
and recently, theVirgin
only documentary evidence
andrelat- Ch
Beyond the ing Mantegna to printmaking
core group was the Simone di
the
again: can Ardizzone letter hand
the mentioned above: this has been
in inter- thi
others that have, since
preted in many ways that confuse the issueKristel
rather than
uted followers to
clarify it. Recently discovered ordocumentary to evidence tho
These prints published
'in by Signorini,
the placing certain engraving
manner o
engravings plates
recently
in possession of Mantegna's son Ludovicoreattr
at the
Landau.6 These four
time of his death engravin
in 1510, is tantalizing.10 However, it
a large group of
proves only that engravings
Ludovico had the plates and probably t
uted to Giovanni
acquired them from Mantegna's Antonio
estate at the time of
'premier engraver',
the latter's death in 1506. It still the
does not prove 'Ma
Campagnola.7 Mantegna's active involvement as anthe
Despite engraver. If con
the identities of Giovanni Antonio da Brescia and the Mantegna had hired engravers, he would most cer-
engraver 'ZA' (formerly thought to be the painter Zoantainly have kept the plates after they had rendered then-
Andrea) by Boorsch and Landau, there are still majorservices. The plates documented in this inventory
questions regarding the many engravings in this largeinclude most, but not all, of the core group (absent is
group.8 In this article I will deal only peripherally with the plate bearing the two Battles of the Sea Gods) and
questions of the larger circle of engravings surroundingincluded are several plates for prints not generally con-
the core group, except for the four prints reattributed sidered autograph: three of the Triumphs , an Hercules and
to Mantegna by Landau in 1992. Antaeus and the Four Dancers. Again, several interpreta-
Stylistic analysis and comparison of design, compo-tions of this information are possible. Did Mantegna
sition and execution have been, and will continue to be,engrave some or all of these plates, or none?
the most useful approach in art-historical scholarship. The latest documentary evidence, discovered last
However, in evaluating engravings attributed toyear in the State Archives of Mantua by Andrea
Mantegna where there is no direct evidence - such asCanova, is an actual contract between Mantegna and
works signed by him - and where there are many worksthe goldsmith Zohanne Cavalli dated April 1475 (five
in the 'manner of Mantegna', documentary evidence months prior to the letter from Simone to Ludovico
and comparative technical analysis are critical ele-Gonzaga). The contract is interesting in its specific
ments of attribution. The execution or workmanshipterms for each party: Mantegna is to make the draw-
exhibited in these engravings was observed byings to be engraved, and Cavalli promises not to show
Kristeller in 1901 and most recently by Landau.9the drawings or plates or let them be taken away with-
Kristeller's clear and concise observations served as a
out Mantegna's authorization. In the final codicil,
scholarly mainstay to solidify and define the attribution
Cavalli promises to return each plate (with its drawing)

4. In Martineau, op. cit., D. Chambers, J. Martineau, and R. that all 23 engravings originally attributed to Mantegna by
Signorini, 'Mantegna and the Men of Letters', pp. 8-30: '...no Bartsch are by one hand, that of the Premier Engraver.
other painter of his day received so many poetic tributes over so 9. P. Kristeller, op. cit. Landau, op. cit., and Landau and P. Parshall,
long a period as did Mantegna', p. 11; P. Kristeller, op. cit., The Renaissance Print, London and New Haven 1994, pp. 65-78.
Appendix of Documents, pp. 465-500; G. Gilbert, Italian Art10. R. Signorini, 'New Findings about Andrea Mantegna: His Son
1 400-1500: Sources and Documents, 1992, pp. 129-36. Ludovico's Post-mortem Inventory (1510)', Journal of the Warburg
5. J. Levenson, K. Oberhuber, J. Sheehan, Early Italian Engravings and Courtauld Institutes, lix, 1996, pp. 103-338. This document
from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC 1973, pp. 165-94; confirms conclusions reached by Landau and Boorsch in
Landau, op. cit., pp. 45-55. Martineau, op. cit., Appendix I: Engraved Plates, pp. 469-70.
6. Landau, op. cit., pp. 44-52. The authors convincingly argue that six of the seven (all except
7. Boorsch, op. cit., pp. 56-66. the Virgin and Child) were engraved on both sides of three plates:
8. Landau, op. cit., p. 52. Landau believes Da Brescia and the i. Risen Christ and Entombment, 2. The two Bacchanals and 3. The
Premier Engraver are the same person, while Boorsch 's view is two halves of the Battle of the Sea Gods.

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 MANTEGNA 5

to Mantegna as he
attributed to Andrea finishes
Mantegna show a clear technicalit. T
suggest problems progression. Whether that or not we willMantegn
ever be able to
past. Unfortunately, definitively prove Mantegna'sthere authorship, there is is n
drawings Cavalli ample evidence is to
to identify translate
a single evolving 'hand' in
are left in a similar
the core group. This engraver, quandary
whom I believe to be as
tract mean that Mantegna, shows Mantegna
in every print in this group a distinc-did
was it drawn tiveness up before,
of line and a mobile creativity that durin
would be
engraving efforts hard to imagine inon Mantegna'
a professional engraver tasked to
Mantegna studies reproduce Mantegna's the designs. As in other areas of
accumula
evidence, although artistic achievement, ithighlyis my belief that there aresugg
This latest documentcertain idiosyncracies of workmanship proves, in these early o
Mantegna hired engravings at least
that characterize the hand.one
In the connois-eng
prove the possibility seurship of paintings, we often that he
attempt to distinguish als
self.11
one artist from another by the handling of the brush
The rationale for Landau's re-attribution of four and characteristic manipulation of paint. In drawings,
engravings - the Flagellation with Pavement , the Descent we differentiate the pupil from the master by the often
into Limbo , the Descent from the Cross and the Entombmentslight, but distinctive, differences in the flicks and
with Four Birds - as Mantegna's first efforts as a print-marks of the pen or pencil. In other words, we look at
maker, seems to be the need to explain the existencethe of details of workmanship to support a conclusion
the core group, which would otherwise have sprung about the whole. Likewise in these early engravings
into being without precedent.12 But suggesting a devel- there are certain quirks of the hand, certain ways of
opment from these four engravings not only diffuses, working the burin, particularly in the contour lines and
but also confuses, the issue of an identifiable hand in hatching, that are unforced and unstudied.
the core group. Perhaps there would be less need to As we shall see, there are also areas in very early
look outside the core group for the engraver's initial impressions that show preliminary working in the plate
steps of development if we could understand the char- before formal engraving is started, when the engraver/
acteristics of the hand in this group of seven engrav- artist is in effect laying in the idea for the design. These
ings. This is not to deny that there may have beenareas are so spontaneous and lively that it would seem
earlier efforts by this engraver, but that in order to iden-
to me impossible that this engraver was not the creator
tify them (if they exist) we must first fully understand of the design and improbable that it was done for
the hand operating in the core group itself. another party, namely a professional engraver, to fol-
Erwin Panofsky, writing 50 years ago about Albrecht low. Within this group of seven engravings, all probably
Diirer's engravings, said: 'An artist gains proficiency executed within a decade, we will follow the changes in
not by alternate unexpected relapses and in inspired technique, building a sequence 'step by step'.14
anticipations but "learns" step by step, and each newThis research deals with the connoisseurship of tech-
feat once acquired is not easily forgotten. Thus, what nique. It is not scientific in the strict sense and in fact is
would be presumptuous in the domain of any other in the end no less subjective, no less based on a knowl-
medium - namely, to determine a precise chronologi- edgeable eye, than is the attribution of style. Technical
cal sequence on the basis of mere progress in "skill"connoisseurship
- gathers and uses a different kind of
is quite feasible where Dürer's earlier engravings are information: the details of the artist's working proce-
concerned.'13 dures, such as the way an engraver builds up the
Based on a review of the technical evidence gathered
design, his hatching patterns, the variations in inking
during my research, the core group of engravings and printing. During the course of my research I

il. A. Canova, 'Mantegna disegnava ma non incideva', Il Sole-24 45-55-

Ore, 5 March 2000. This article was translated from the Italian 13. E. Panofsky, The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer, London iq^, p. 68.
for the author by Elon Danziger, Research Assistant,14. For the methodology of examination, documentation and the
Department of Italian Renaissance Painting, National Gallery of equipment used for this project, consult S. Fletcher, A Re-evalu-
Art.
ation of Two Mantegna Prints', Print Quarterly, xiv, 1997, pp.
12. Bartsch originally included these four prints in his group of 23 67-77, which serves as a point of departure for the present dis-
prints attributed to Mantegna in Les Peintres-graveurs . XIII: Les cussion.
vieux maîtres Italiens, Vienna 181 1, pp. 222-43; Landau, op. cit., pp.

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6 MANTEGNA

i. Andrea Mantegna, Risen Chr

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 MANTEGNA 7

sought the up the pattern

help of and hence
an volume. engraver,
guidelines to 4.study
An irregularity or unevenness
the in the angle, core
spacing gr
These guidelines help
or pattern of hatches. the inve
no means do 5. A characteristic handling
they of the burin to demon-
deliver an e
when one is strate
dealing
a topographically tilted or twistingwith
line, as well as a h
evolving. Here a distinctare some
propensity for digging of
the burin in to produce the
this research high that
rough ridges of lines.helped to de
First, is thereMy one decision to place the Risen Christ (fig. 1), as
hand at the wor
Second, if so, what
first engraving are
in the chronological sequence theruns co
And, third, counter to prevailing
can these opinion. Technically, the Risen
characte
lines to differentiate Christ seems set apart somewhatthis from its companions. hand f
The characteristics In comparing it with its closest of neighbours
the (the core
1. The virtuosity Entombment and the of Bacchanal withthe contou
Wine Vat), it seems at
through variation first glance as if it in
might fit between
depth them. But on and
2. The spontaneous repeated examination it became and evident to melively
that q
the-plate. this austere print lacked the vibrant vocabulary and
3. The presence of lighter sets of parallel strokes at method that had so clearly been created in the
acute angles to heavier sets of parallel strokes (double Entombment and continued in all other engravings in the
parallel line shading); and a general means of building core group. The absence of these factors in the Risen

15. David Schorr, an artist-engraver, is also Professor of Art at Wesleyan College, Middletown, Connecticut.

2. Detail offig. i.

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 8 MANTEGNA

3. Andrea Mantegna, Bird on a

Christ meant that

that are virtually this
without exception diagonal fromeng
first or last in
right to left the series.
(fig. 2). A faint under-layer of finer strokes Sin
is much more closely
seen in this illustration tied
may exist in the print overall, but t
Bacchanal with it is hard to Wine
find, perhaps because the lines are so close,
Vat an
the developments together (A). What does seenbecome clearerin on examina-
the
and Virgin and tion is that thereChild
is no systematic effort, the
to produce the c
series seemed the natural solution. structural foundation of double parallel lines shading
The Risen Christ is a lesson in discipline and control.
that is forcefully represented in the Entombment , and is
Lacking the exuberance and variability of strokes evi- integral to the general working method of the core
group as a whole.
dent in the Entombment , this print presents shading lines

4. Detail of fig. 3.

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 MANTEGNA 9

5. Andrea Mantegna, Risen Chris

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io MANTEGNA

6. Detail of fig. i.

7. Detail of fig. i.

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 MANTEGNA II

Rather engraving would bethe

than surprisingly sophisticated.
kind o
the Although there are differences between
Entombment the Risen
and lat
this print Christ and the Entombment
is, rather, , there are also similarities of an é
Christ , the
workmanship. Theburin
most important is a characteristic seem
veringly Virtuosity of line' mentioned earlier, which can be
rendering a sy
out in advance. Indeed,
seen, for example, in the contour lines in St Andrew's
is much more
face. They show a searchinglike
intensity, with the burindraw
1470S, such as
twisting and rocking back Washingt
and forth to produce a char-
4) and, of acteristically
course, intense line. The distinctive quality
the of dr
Staadichethese contour
Graphische
lines, with their characteristic handling
have been ofunable
the burin (as opposed to contour lines into engravings dete
the spontaneous
outside of the core group), must be seen as defining sketch
Entombment features of this hand. (as well a
group). This The Entombment (fig. absence
8) is a remarkable work of art in m
preparatory a number of ways. drawing
Its emotional impact is immediate. o
the Risen WhileChristthe subject had been rendered many times
relates
the exception
before, the dynamic quality of of this particularthescene is re
that any sketching
extraordinarily dramatic. Another exceptional feature line
the engraving
is this print's relatively large sizewere
for an engraving of the pr
heavier period (plate 339 mm X 480 mm).18 If, as I believe,
engraved lines.1the
directionality
Risen Christ was engraved before of the Entombment shadin
, we can
the feelingsurely see the that
result of the engraver's efforts thein the later bu
than in theprint. While not exhibiting the kind of technical deft-
Entombment
stroke andness and pattern,
agility found in succeeding engravings, such a s
the Risen as Christ
the Battle of the Sea Gods, the burin work here , reveals a pac
adhered to by
a creativity and freedom lacking invirtuethe Risen Christ. The o
engraver is
audacity ofperhaps
engraving in the Entombment might well be hon
tition. thought of as indicative of an engraver realizing for the
Another difference between this engraving and oth- first time the potential of this new medium. The
ers in the core group is the presence of burr left along- Entombment contains two interconnected features that
side unscraped burin lines. Ivins, in his still useful book, would seem to confirm its placement after the Risen
How Prints Look , illustrates this very point using the Christ. One is the presence of a clear working method
Metropolitan Museum of Art impression of this print. of shading and shading patterns that can be seen evolv-
In his illustration of St Andrew's beard, Ivins clearly ing in all succeeding engravings in the group. This
shows the remains of burr left by the unscraped burin working method will allow us to 'track' this engraver's
stroke, where a white line represents the actual ridge of development from the Entombment through later
metal which has been wiped clean; the fuzzy black ink engravings, and becomes another identifiable trait of
lines on either side of it result from ink catching on the this printmaker.19 The second element consistent with
undersides of the burr.17 The unscraped burin burr the early stage of an artist's work in a particular medi-
morphology, which produces similar effects to dry- um is the development of a vocabulary of engraving
point, can also be seen in the face of St Andrew (fig. 6 terms.

at A). The burin is evident at B. Burr can be seen even
more clearly in the drapery (fig. 7 at A). Since this is the
only engraving of the core group in which I have
detected the clear remains of burin burr, I would sug-
gest that it results from inexperience. A deliberate use
of the burr's softening effects at this early period of
The method that we see in its early stages in the
Entombment is a calculated layering of strokes that moves
from lighter to heavier. The lighter strokes, barely visi-
ble in areas such as the face of the Virgin (fig. 9, A and
B), are more clearly enunciated in the thigh of the fig-
ure farthest left, (fig. 10), where the appearance of the

16. Martineau, op. cit., pp. 211-15; K. Christiansen,19.

op.I would
cit. like to thank Deli Sacilotto, printmaker and Director of
Christiansen believes the repositioning of the head in the draw-
Research, Graphic Studio, University of South Florida, Tampa,
ing was done by a later owner. for the idea that this particular shading pattern in the Entombment
17. W. M. Ivins, How Prints Look , Boston, 1958, p. 68. illustrated a structure that is indicative of the artist's working
18. Martineau, op. cit., p. 199. method.

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12 MANTEGNA

8. Andrea Mantegna, Entombm

9. Detail of fig. 8.

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 MANTEGNA 13

10. Detail of fig. 8.

shading pattern is similar

alignment ofto the
later,
be made: a line strokes.
sketch is
Theyfirst are lig
d
accented with that
heavier are strokes.
an integr I
structural shading
are under-layer
seen less frequ
planned design, which,
their when
presence com
in
shading strokes andand erroneous
heavy contopla
results in an integrated
indicate a three-di
working
pattern is the first
As a appearance
method, thiso
shading system seen
careful, inmethodic
various
group engravings.were -
Withinwould this be pac
set of very lightpractice
strokes in other
that origi m
of the highlightedof Mantegna's
thigh, and pain
do n
with either the is observed:
darker or Jill
lighter D
my opinion, ful
these and accurate
strokes (A) ar u
that may simply even
help detecting
the engrave it,

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 14 MANTEGNA

departures from This illustration

theperfectly combines
drawn the features of a lin
obscured or confused
working method (described above) with
with the concept theof
The difference a stroke vocabulary. Alternating
here, however,heavier ançj lighter i
he methodically builds
sets of parallel burin the
strokes are at acute angles to each u
obliterates it other (B carefully
by and C). All strokes in this shading pattern
paintin
parent' black seem and
to originate at the white
contour or highlighted worl
edge. I
under-structure have refrained from sometimes
calling this stroke pattern an 'imi- r
deliberately a tation return stroke' as part
visible I did in an earlierof article, the
The second because I am not
key to at all sure that that is what was
understand
hand is by observing
intended.21 At this point, in and follow
the Entombment , I believe
his language of that Mantegna
engraving. is modifying his use in drawings
The of a E
nical embodiment simple parallel lineof shadingthis
pattern - like new
that seen in l
Mantegna will Birduse
on a Branch more
(fig. n) - to a doubleforcefu
parallel shading
cisely in subsequent pattern, not to imitate the running engravinzigzag or return
henceforth be stroke that he seems to use only
deemed occasionally in his
unnecess
and others will be altered to suit the artist's creative drawings, but rather as a means of creating depth and
development, but the underlying structure or work- volume.22 In the Entombment , the two series of lines
ing method will remain virtually unchanged. rarely connect at the ends to create an imitation return
Methodology and technical vocabulary are intercon- or zigzag stroke.
nected and therefore symptomatic of the individualSecond, simple /complex dark background shading strokes,
craftsman at work, showing how he thinks and works. such as the rocks seen in fig 12. Simple, long, deep
Understanding this will enable us to differentiate this strokes are at varying distances apart. They seem to
hand from others, who imitate and emulate the super- have been executed together as a natural shading tech-
ficial aspects of this engraver's method. nique, although they probably cover up lighter strokes.
The following list includes the basic strokes or strokeThese long strokes suggest a rather relaxed and slow
patterns developed, for the most part, in the movement of the burin through the metal, keeping it
Entombment , and which will be seen in later core group
low to the surface of the plate, so that there is no 'begin-
prints. This listing is by no means all the variationsning of or ending' point to the stroke. We can also see a
strokes found, but illustrates the major elementsfew of short strokes (A) emanating from the contour edge,
Mantegna's language of engraving. which may be a kind of 'guide' stroke. This kind of
shading compares well with that seen in the drawing
First, the double parallel stroke pattern (see thigh, fig. 10).

20. J. Dunkerton, 'Mantegna's Painting Techniques', Mantegna and op. cit., pp. 67-77.
21. Fletcher,
15th Century Court Culture , London 1993, pp. 26-39; see
22.also K.
Lincoln, op. cit., pp. 47-49. Lincoln points out that in many cases
Christiansen, 'Some Observations on Mantegna's Painting Mantegna's engraving style is compared to drawings which are
Technique', in Martineau, op. cit., pp. 68-77. questionably his.

h. Detail of fig. 3. 12. Detail of fig. 8.

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 MANTEGNA 15

of Bird on a Branch. In other mo

areas (fig. 13), the burin cuts d
also seems to cut in two directi
opposing strokes seem to combi
stroke. One can also make out several of the faint
under-strokes. While used less frequently in the
Entombment and Risen Christ , this widely cut background
shading will become a more noticeable feature in the
dark shading of later core group prints, where the
heavy burin work achieves an almost decorative effect.
The closest parallel I have been able to find in other
engravings of the period is in the backgrounds of nielli
prints by Francesco Francia and Peregrino da Cesena,
both of whom worked in Bologna. These prints are
dated to the 1470s.23 In the Saint, attributed to
Francesco Francia (figs. 14 and 15), the effect of this type
of background is to give it an interestingly fluid dark

23. J. Levenson, K. Oberhuber, and J. Sheehan, op. cit., Appendix B:

Niello Prints, pp. 528-49.

13. Detail of fig. 8.

14. Attributed to Francesco Francia, Saint, engraving, 67 x 16

15. Detail of fig. 14. mm (Washington, DC, National Gallery of Art).

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1 6 MANTEGNA

1 6. Detail of 19.
fig. 8. Detail of fig. 8.

17. Detail of 20.

fig. 8. Detail of fig. 8.

patterns rendere
demonstrates an
someone anxious to master the methods of execution
and technique in a new medium.
Third, simple parallel shading, , seen here in Mary
Magdalene's robe (fig. 16). The parallel strokes are in a
variety of lengths, and, at the far left, the pattern is an
unusual and graceful set of parallels with a slight curve.
This pattern is really made up of two strokes, the ele-
gant curving top part (A) and a heavier bottom stroke
(B) that over-cuts A. To the right of it is a set of simple
18. Detail of short parallels
fig. 8. over-cut by a long sharp curving line (G).
Fourth, meandering line stroke , seen as wrinkles in cloth-
ing in areas like the Virgin's sleeves (fig. 17). Look at
how the burin has dug in at A, and fades to an almost
atmosphere, as ifappearance.
drypoint-like light were sh
Entombment , Fifth,
this 'white-on-bl
cross-hatch: this engraver was perfectly capable
erwise bland, of dark
using cross-hatchingbackground
when it suited him, as in the
In terms of sheer diversity
tomb (fig. 18), with a straightforward cross-hatch. o
drapery shows an abundanc
Sixth, sketching-in-the-plate : there has been no discus-

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 MANTEGNA 17

sion of sketching-in-the-plate
tic engraving approach from which he could move for- w
engravings. The
ward. Developingpresence
such a technique would serve two of t
impressions would seem
purposes: it would allow the to
artist to create his own dis- be
since its presence not
tinctive engraving technique only
and style, which could co
impression, but its
evolve as he saw fit,character
and it would give other engravers wou
tifying an (in Mantegna's service)In
engraver. a clearerthe
model from which
Entom to
the core group work.
with the
For if, in fact, we believe thatexception
Mantegna took the
sketching takes
time and the form
energy to learn to engrave, then we ofmust spo
contour drawing on
entertain the the
probability that he not plate
only wanted the bef
in of the burin engraving
prestige and honour of making beautiful imagesbegins.
in the
mon means ofnewplacing
art form himself, but was and
also thinking ofsettin
these
on the plate. It
printsis
to theirnot meant
fullest potential - to serve as examples to b
simply a preview for
and models from the
which his influence wouldartist.
be spread
much farther and wider.24
sketching is incorporat
engraving.) ThisThe engravingspontaneous
style of the Bacchanal with Wine Vat f
found in core (fig. group
21), is the heir to bothengravings
its predecessors. In its rather
parison to sketching strict adherence to a closelyseen in
spaced and fine-line right-othe
dence of the use of
to-left diagonal a
shading burin
programme, it is similar to for
the t
could probably Risen not bethere
Christ . However, usedis a clear line ofsodevelop-free
would simply ment be of the adoublemetal
parallel shading system pointinitiated in o
scratch the metal surface
the Entombment. For instance, in the putto' very
s face (fig. 22), lig
ably very little we find a similar shading
burr style to that seen in the
produced, a
after the first Virgin's few face in the Entombment however, the double
impressions w
pale lines seen parallel here, shading system there
is more forcefully apparent is no
background rock here than below
in the Entombment , where the the shorter,left
lighter cr
er burin strokes that follow them can be differentiated set of strokes is barely visible. The Bacchanal with Wine
by the almost angular beginning cuts like the one at A. Vat combines the discipline of line from the Risen Christ
Seventh, contour lines are done slowly and thoughtful- with the shading system developed in the Entombment.
ly, with the burin constantly twisting and turning. This The most impressive aspect of the Bacchanal with
is most eloquently seen in the face of St John (fig. 20), Wine Vat , however, is not in the variety of strokes or
where the burin digs into the metal proportionate to stroke patterns but in their elegance of execution. The
the intensity and anguish of this figure. One gets theengraved lines seem to have a new authority, vigour
feeling, particularly in contour lines, that this engraver, and assuredness even in the finely toned areas, like
even if he is working from a drawing, is creating as he Bacchus 's chin (fig. 23). Here, as in the Entombment , the
goes along, sometimes stopping the burin, restarting, burin lines look sharper and more angled than in the
and sometimes repeating the line. In other words, theRisen Christ , and there is no burr to widen the lines as in
line is being 'felt' as it is being cut, and is constantly the Risen Christ. The single parallel shading pattern of
changing along its course. This seems to be very much light under-strokes has become completely integrated
in keeping with Mantegna's drawing style, where he iswith the fast-paced and finely wrought heavier strokes
continually 'working' the contour lines. that create the distinctive double parallel-lined shading
In all of the strokes and patterns described there ispattern first seen in the Entombment. Another example
no sense of repetitiveness, even in areas of repetition.of increased sophistication of technique can be seen in
Rather than each line within a pattern being regular- the elegant detail of the foot of the figure to the left of
ized and even, it is individual and different, and the Bacchus (fig. 24), where, first of all, we can clearly see a
spacing between the lines is irregular. This lack of reg-beautifully and spontaneously rendered light 'sketch-
ularity, and facile repetitiveness of line and pattern, adding-in' stroke (A), to initially indicate the positioning of
credibility to these prints being by the hand of the the foot. The most important aspect of this illustration,
inventor. however, is the innovation in the shading pattern: what
In the Entombment , Mantegna developed a systema- might earlier have been simple close parallel strokes

24. Christiansen, 'The Case for Mantegna as Printmaker', op. cit.

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l8 MANTEGNA

2i. Andrea Mantegna, Bacchanal

Entombment (fig
the occasional m
here in the Win
in depth, and m
This is a major s
is an evolution of method.
In a sense, the evolution of this process or system of
engraving that began in the Entombment reaches a kind
of perfection in the Bacchanal with Wine Vat. Another
engraver might easily have used this fine and elegant
style indefinitely. Obviously, however, Mantegna's ideas
of perfection were fluid and perhaps unsatisfiable.
Judging from the shift in engraving style between the
22. Detail of fig. 21.
Bacchanal with Wine Vat and Silenus , we might suspect that
Mantegna either felt he had reached the end of that line
of development and concluded it no longer sufficed to
in the Risen express
Christhis artistic needs (just , or
as he did betweendisti
the
Entombment ,
Risen Christ are
and Entombment now conv
), and/or he experienced
stroke (B and G).
influences Ahimlighter
that impelled to change direction. sh
visible. Nevertheless,
The more robust and powerful rendering there
of line ini-
stroke present. This
tiated in the Silenus pattern
- as compared with its pendant the
the double Bacchanal with Wine Vat -pattern
parallel has caused several scholars to fir

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 MANTEGNA 19

23. Detail of fig. 21.

24. Detail of fig. 21.

pause in engraving technique, which

reflection. employs broader and
Comparing
prints, Kristeller
more widely spaced
commented:
modeling lines.'25 'I
peculiar coarseness and
The influence of Pollaiuolo's hard
print in the Bacchanal
which are with Wine Vat ás well as invery
incised the Silenus is instructive. The
sharp
harsh prominence.'
example of the 'V' strokes In
in the footalmost
(fig. 24), is brought ap
on to say: 'The into clearer
drawingfocus in another exampleis, from the how
its detail ... that it
Bacchanal with Wine is
Vat in impossib
Bacchus's thigh (fig. 25). In
doubt Mantegna'sthis example we have authorship.'
a shading pattern clearly reflec-
an interesting point,
tive of because
the structure of the hatching in the Entombment' s wh
nique is, on thigh pattern (fig. 10). That is to say, the
inspection, working
noticeab
simply look at
methodthese two
is the same, although there is a differentengra
han-
litde notice ofdling the difference
of the strokes and a shift in their relationship to b
power of the draughtsmansh
each other. The entire pattern of strokes has not only
Oberhuber, Levenson
been elongated, but also interestinglyand compressed in Shee
a
look of the Silenus : 'The influence of Pollaiuolo's Battle more angled slant. The lines are now more equal in
depth, and therefore appear of almost equal intensity.
of the Naked Men is in greater evidence in this print, espe-
cially in the treatment of the muscles . . . and in theAll these changes mean that the two main lines (B and

25. Kristeller, op. cit., p. 398; J. Levenson, K. Oberhuber and J. Sheehan, op. cit., p. 186.

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 20 MANTEGNA

25. Detail of fig. 21.

C) now converge plate, but, with closer examination,

to we see that these
form
and together are still twoform
sets of parallel strokes seamlessly
the woven im
return stroke. together. It isThe
indicative of the evolutio
kind of facile execution
zigzags is a master goldsmith might make.
another Pollaiuolo's executionIt
step.
most fluidly is completely
done fluid, with therepeated
burin cutting moderately,
Naked Men evenly and not very deep
(figs. 26 or wide, and
producing lines that
27)
Mantegna hadare nearly the seen
same length and, for the most part,
Pollaiu
Wright pointed meeting nicely at bothout,ends. The line swells
he somewhat
cle
al elements in the Bacchanal with Wine Vat from as it reaches its end point - the B set of lines more so
Pollaiuolo's print, such as the vine-encircled fruit tree
than the very slightly lighter A set - and the whole pat-
tern seems to be executed with a beautiful rhythmic
and the very trivialized ansate or signature plate.26
flow. The interesting difference in overall effect of
Whether or not this new zigzag stroke in the Bacchanal
with Wine Vat h also evidence of Pollaiuolo's influence is
Mantegna's structural, three-dimensional approach
debatable, since we can see a clear development to liesthis
in the fact that Pollaiuolo's print is basically two-
point within Mantegna's work. dimensional, showing little depth or volume.
Pollaiuolo's execution of his zigzag shading patternBecause we can follow a clear line of development in
is completely and easily realized. The strokes of methodology
the in Mantegna's engravings, I believe we
can as
burin, in an easy and seamless effort, incise the lines say with some degree of confidence that he creat-
ed a double parallel-lined system which naturally
if they are one long drawing stroke. We are so mesmer-
ized by Pollaiuolo's facility that at first we believe evolved
he has into the zigzag shading style seen in the
actually returned the stroke (fig. 27 at A') by turningBacchanals.
the That Mantegna obviously borrowed from

26. A. Wright, 'Mantegna and Poliamolo: Artistic Personalitybelieves

and that it is 'particularly telling that Mantegna left the sig-
the Marketing of Invention', Drawings 1400-1600: Invention nature
and out of his ansate ... an unlikely omission had the idea been
Mantegna's own invention', p. 81.
Innovation , edited S. Currie, Aldershot 1998, pp. 72-90. Wright

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 MANTEGNA 21

26. Antonio Poliamolo, Bat

Pollaiuolo's toured than those in the Wine Vat, that is, they are not
composition
studied curved, but swell in the centre. There is an overlapping
Pollaiuolo's eng
influence ofon strokes - the number
Mantegnahas now grown to four in this
gance of lineshading pattern! As and in isa
in the Wine Vat , the under-stroke g
Mantegna's shading
incorporated into the pattern, to be seen clearly only at tec
Wine Vat intermittent
, is points a(A), but mostly
good it is obscured by its exa
tern that started in the Entombment. This illustration nearby parallel neighbour (B). As before in the Wine
shows that Mantegna continued the use of the light Vat , the stroke C angles off from the starting point of B,
under-stroke (A). We see it only intermittently now
because it is most often gone over by one of the main
lines. Slightiy further up in the illustration it is barely
separated from B. The engraving style of the Wine Vat
has become a highly systematized effort, the burin now
able to work with speed and confidence. This natural
evolution of Mantegna's method, and possibly an
assimilation of Pollaiuolo's technique in the Battle of the
Naked Men , may help to explain the burst of innovation
we see in the Bacchanal with Silenus (fig. 28).
The magnitude of the change in the Silenus is evident
as we look at the right shin of the porter at left (fig. 29).
The pattern is much more complex than in the similar
pattern shown previously in the Bacchanal with Wine Vat
27. Detail of fig. 26.
(fig. 25). The strokes are not only thicker but more con-

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22 MANTEGNA

28. Andrea Mantegna, Bacch

but in the Silenus there is

seems to originate at the
addition of D would seem
illusion of a return in th
the individual 'Zs' do no
has already begun to el
and uncomplicated exam
What becomes evident w
of shading patterns in th
in the Silenus , is that th
core group whose similar
of authorship. The closes
ly, can be found in the fo
lier that were recendy r
Entombment with Four Bird
the Flagellation with the Pa
into Limbo (fig. 33). In th
show that these four eng
hand as in the core gr
engravers. Furthermore
cates that these four en
executed prior
29. to the of
Detail Ento
Ba
vocabulary
Collection). contains

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 MANTEGNA 23

30. Anonymous Engraver, Entombmen

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24 MANTEGNA

31. Anonymous Engraver, Depositio

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 MANTEGNA 25

32. Anonymous Engraver, Flagellation

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26 MANTEGNA

33. Anonymous Engraver, Descent

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 MANTEGNA 27
Bacchanals not and
before.27
are carried to extremes. In both these examples the
In the wide lines with
Entombment curve slightly, as is characteristic
Four of this
Birds , in
John (fig. 34), we can
hand. These broad flat see
strokes wouldahave version
been totally o
that seems to be a combination of the one in the out of character with the style of Mantegna's earlier
Bacchanal with Wine Vat and a simplified version of engravings,
fig. but are wholly in keeping with the devel-
29, in the Silenus , using three strokes. The 'Zs' have
opments evident in the Bacchanals.
been connected and look more Pollaiuolo-like, except The Bacchanal with Silenus is the fulcrum around
that a heavy-handed guide-type stroke A appears inter-
which the questions, and perhaps the solutions, sur-
mittendy. This hand is characterized by a shorter rounding
and Mantegna attributions can be discussed and
slightly curved stroke pattern that is uncharacteristic of
analyzed. For instance, this beautifully rendered slant-
the hand in the core group. Such a pattern coulded not
cross-stroke seen in Pan's puffed-out cheek (fig. 38),
have been executed prior to the Entombment , since it is
did
not seen in earlier core group engravings. Its intro-
not evolve in the core group until the Bacchanals. There
duction offers the artist more flexibility in rendering
is, of course, the possibility that this engraver was imi-
the shading of rounded forms. This same kind of slant-
tating Poliamolo directly. ed cross stroke is also seen beautifully rendered, albeit
Other innovations in the Silenus include broad flat with slighdy curving strokes, in Christ's leg in the
strokes, seen in the thigh of the porter at left (fig. 35), Deposition (fig. 39). This engraver is quite adept, but dif-
that are really quite different from anything we have ferent in his handling, as he uses a more squared flat
seen before. Because the leg is in deep shadow, theline. Two other comparisons reveal a less adept
shading is similar to a background shading pattern
reminiscent of the type found in the Risen Christ and
Entombment , but much wider and flatter, with adjacent
strokes blending into each other. The more typical
background treatment can be found at the upper right
of fig. 35, where the burin digs in more deeply to pro-
duce a more delineated white-on-black pattern. This
new flat patterning seen in the Silenus thigh of the
porter can also be seen in the first state of the Deposition
(fig. 36), and the Entombment with Four Birds (fig. 37). But
in the hand of this imitator, the wideness and flatness

27. Martineau, op. cit., pp. 44-55; Landau and Parshall, op. cit., pp.
65-66; see also Kristeller's discussion of these four engravings,
op. cit., pp. 388-99.

34. Detail of fig. 30. 35. Detail of Bacchanal with Silenus (Chatsworth, Devonshire
Collection).

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 28 MANTEGNA

36. Detail of 39.Deposition

Detail of Deposition (Vienna, Graphische Sammlung(Vien
Albertina). Albertina).

37. Detail of fig. 30. 40. Detail of Flagellation with Pavement (Berlin, Kupierstich-
kabinett).

(fig. 41), where the same engraver has limited himself

38. Detail of Bacchanal with Silenns (Chatsworth, Devonshire
Collection).
handling: in the Flagellation with Pavement (fig. 40) this
engraver uses a combination of 'V' strokes, single
parallels and cross-hatching that seem quite chaotic.
Somewhat more competently rendered is the pattern
in the face of the flying monster in the Descent into Limbo
to a V-stroke rather than attempt the more complex
crossover stroke. In these two works, the engraver's ten-
dency is not towards the curving and softer treatment
of the hand of the engraver of the Entombment with Four
Birds and the Deposition , but a very sharp, hard, almost
harsh, execution. Like the other printmaker, however,
the engraver of Descent into Limbo and Flagellation can
be quite competent (if uninspired) when rendering
straightforward (and possibly familiar) patterns (figs. 42
and 43). The regularity in line and spacing make for a
striking design pattern, but a tedious shading mecha-
nism. Kristeller's comment about these engravings is
apt: 'The lines are engraved with great power and deci-
sion, and the shading of a regularity which testifies as
much to the engraver's technical skill as to his lack of
taste and understanding of form.'28 We can see this
28. Kristeller, op. cit p. 388.

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 MANTEGNA 29

42. Detail of Flagellat

kabinett).

41. Detail of fig. 43. 33.

Detail of fig. 32.

engraver's tendency to make diam

'oblique cross-hatching'.29 This pa
seen in the core group and then mo
ground of the Silenus , where for th
moiré pattern that this kind of h
Landau makes the point, in argui
engravings are by Mantegna, that t
from the north. This may be tru
hatching can be found, for examp
of the Master E.S., and is particul
prints from the 1460s; see, for ins
his Virgin and Child Enthroned (f
oblique cross-hatching is found freq
into Limbo and the Flagellation , to
44. Detail from Master E.S., Virgin and Child Enthroned ,
sharp regularity, may
engraving (Washington, DC,suggest
National Gallery of Art). an en
training in the north.
It seems that Levenson, the Oberhuber and Sheehan, were executed
Bacchanals - w
around 1474-75 ~~ offer us a unique opportunity to
attempt to understand the complex intermingling of
ideas and techniques during this period. It is clear that
29. A term first coined, I believe, by Kristeller, op. cit., p. 387. the two engravers I have discussed (engravers of the

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30 MANTEGNA

45. Andrea Mantegna, left half of Bat

46. Detail of fig. 45. 47. Detail of fi

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 MANTEGNA 31

48. Detail of 49.

fig. Detail
45. of fig. 33

50. Detail of 51.

fig. Detail
45. of fig. 33

Deposition and Entombment with F

and the Flagellation i and Descent
were not novices. It is also prob
changes taking place in the Bacch
Silenus - that Mantegna was not
being influenced by, these e
engravers whose hands I have
possibly Zohanne Cavalli, the
contracted in April 1475. The o
presently unknown, was undou
Mantegna around this time.
Simone? It is probable that thes
not their only efforts, and it rem
these two hands can be found
52. Detail of the left
the larger circle related
Devonshire to Man
Collec
In many respects the Battle o
culmination of the systematic
Mantegna so meticulously de
time, the two halves of this im
elements of the engraving sy
Entombment with the best of th

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 32 MANTEGNA

outside influences) noted

the engraver of the Descent in
into Limbo and the Flagellation the B
as if Mantegna,has actually summarized the line worktaken
having at left, leaving a br
the Bacchanal
with Silenus
out all of the subtleties , w^rds,
and nuances. In other returns
ness this engraver has understood
developing of his Mantegna's work to the
personal st
instance, extent that he can in
beginning abbreviate the
and condense the pat-
left half
Mantegna terns of shading and yet maintain
maintains the their recognizable
use of h
line pattern qualities.30
first It is no small feat,
seen in and no wonder thatEntom
the
to a these engravings have
slightly
'looser' stylebeen attributed (fig.
to Mantegna. 46) In
detail of the shoulder of
Another distinguishing, but still more the
subtle, difference left
still see sets ofbetween the core group of engravings
parallel and the four
strokes pl
each other (sets Bdiscussion
prints under and C).
is the character We
of the sketch- can
edge of the shoulder what
ing-in-the-plate. Look at the gracefully curving and look
sketching strokes
spontaneous-looking sketch (A),
line A in fig. 50, which
the left w
Entombment side of
as the central sea god,
part of and the sketching
this lines in engra
In addition, we find
the Descent into Limbo (fig. 51), in the left the
arm of the hud- shor
crossover strokes (D)
dled figure at right. that
The latter's began
deftly straight lines,
combination gives the
similar to an architect's style (A) betrayshading
a different sen- m
sense of sibility and purpose, or as Kristeller says, '... such dif-
three-dimensionality, and
the background ferences
section
are founded not in greater orto lesser degrees
theof righ
see Mantegna's skillfulness, but, above all, in the attitude of the artistdiscus
previously
shading techniquehimself towards Nature'.31
developed int
white-on-blackWhat were these engravers using
design, withas models? They deep
ingly originatingcould not havefrom been using only Mantegna's two drawingsdire
the two opposing since, as we have strokesseen, first, Mantegna's shading
merge
to form one vocabulary is much
wide stroke more developed and(E). systematic inThis
ity is exactly the engravings than
what in the drawings and, second,
makes Manteg the
shading more correlations between certain kinds of engraved
interesting and shadinglively
tators, and is in the core group
one of and these
the four engravings are un-
distingu
engraving. Theremistakable. is It seems
not clear from onlythe illustrations justthe l
ity, but also the presence
discussed that these engravers were basing their of abbrev-sign
The very light iatedstrokes
engraving style on Mantegna's F are
- interested, per- pro
ginal underdrawinghaps, not in producingthat an exact replication is of his
most
strokes, but add
techniques (forto the
they probably knew thatauthenti
they could not)
Compare it to but
an imitation
in producing a recognizable facsimile. of th
the Flagellation The deeply cut line
with work seen particularly clearly in(fig.
Pavement
imitating the the shoulder illustration (fig.
overall 46), is indicative of the
effect of M
pattern. Withforcefulits engravingneat
of the left half ofand regul
Battle , which builds
jagged on the direction
strokes, thistaken in the Silenus and carries it one
engraver
absorbed the step
idea.
further. At the sameBut absent
time, the characteristics of
creative intensity hand, the same hand
of we saw in the Entombment , are still
Mantegna's
pastiche. in evidence in each stroke. The slow searching inner
Similarly, in another comparison, the shadow area contour line G is characteristically intense and dra-
between the central figure and the monster (fig. 48) matic, showing a mountain range-like edge to the line.
with an area in Descent into Limbo (fig. 49), the left side of The outer contour line, however, is obviously the prod-
each illustration shows clearly the imitative quality of uct of several cuts of the burin, and the added thickness
the latter engraver. I have suggested earlier in discus- also possibly results from the hard ends of shading
sion of the Bacchanals that these two engravers had mis- strokes emanating from the contour line. In no other
understood Mantegna's linework, but in looking at engravings of this period do we see such line work.
these two details (figs. 47 and 49), it really seems that Whatever might have been Poliamolo 's influence on

30. Lincoln, op. cit., p. 50. Lincoln uses the term 'professional
31. Kristeller, op. cit., p. 390.
engraver's shorthand', which seems to sum up what I mean here.

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 MANTEGNA 33

53. Andrea Mantegna, right half of Ba

54. Detail of fig. 55.

53. Detail of fig. 53.

Mantegna, it does
made not
a seem
passingtoree
intensity of line.
thisPollaiuolo's
time with lin
mu
even, controlled,As fluid
in theand gracef
Poliamolo
the tension and tell
forcewhere
foundthe
in st
M
By the time Mantegna
the Battle of shows
the Sea
Mantegna had Pollaiuolo's
absorbed achievement and comes close and
to the latter's assi
tions first elegance of line. in the Bacchan
displayed
half, formalized The righthis overall
side of the Battle syst
of the Sea Gods (fig. 53) is

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 34 MANTEGNA

56. Detail of fig. 57. Detail of fig. 53.

53.

another step in Mantegna's

without the artifice of a strict engraving conti me
engraving style In and
the same way that there is a noticeable
technique. In
able relaxation and
engraving style abetween
simplifica
the two Bacchanab
engraving illustrates there is a change the between the two halves u
Treeing of
first manifested of thein SeatheGods. But really, as
left we have seen,
side. Th
ally less deeplythese cut seven engravings
than in are executed
the lef exac
These shallower lines,
Mantegna's engraving combined
style is continually ev
produce a softness in that sense of each of the seven
line that is a transit
lo
point (fig. 54). between In addition the one before and to the one the after.
also see the inclusion half of the Battleof is for this
many artist a naturalmo resu
chops and squiggles, work that took asplace the in its engrave
left side, and bot
abilities and in way his for thefreedom.
final print in this series, See, fo
the Virgi
gle in a thigh The of very the
fact that figure
each of these prints hold
is differ
graphic marks still under maintaining the a characteristic
Siren's and idi a
wrinkle in Pan's hand,
elbowis further (fig. proof that56). the engraver In i
we can clearly see of the thehighest calibre
burin and not merely a pr
stroke
become shallow engraver and workingmore to reproduce another dryp artist
ance.
If Mantegna's final aim was to make engr
While Mantegna's double parallel the
strokes
manner can of clear-
his drawings, there is no bette
to make
ly still be seen in many areas of the that side
right connection
of than
thethe Man on a Stone Slab
(fig.
Battle , such as in the thigh of the sea 58). It
god fits perfectiy
with fish andwith the two sides of the Battle
the abdominal area of the sea god of atthe right,
Sea Godsthere
and the is
Virgin and Child , the latter an
an increased tendency to simplify engraving
the shading.as close as For
one could get to the look, feel and
instance, in the upraised arm of the latter
technique of asea god,
drawing by Mantegna.32 The Man on a
Stone Slabspaced
where there are simple and fairly widely is dated to the 1470s, and its authorship has
single
parallel lines, and the dark shading never
in the beenchest
seriously disputed.
area of Technically speaking, it
his siren (fig. 57), where even thoughis there
a much aremore alternat-
complex mixture of strokes and stroke
ing lighter and heavier strokes, therecombinations
seems than,
to be fornoexample, the earlier drawings
overt double parallel system, such ofas weonhave
a Bird a Branchseen
and thein
Risen Christ , which have fair-
profusion in the Entombment and thelyBacchanals.
simple shading styles with littie variation. In the Man
In these
instances, it is as if the engraver isonshading
a Stone Slabjust asgreat
we find he variation and flexibility of
would in a drawing, reinforcing earlier shading
shading. This but
flexibility means that the shading is not

32. It is also possible that, after Mantegna began engraving, hisengravings.

drawings took on some of the shading patterns found in his

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 MANTEGNA 35

58. Andrea Mantegna, Man on a Sto

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36 MANTEGNA

59. Detail of fig. 45.

limited to the strict diagonal

shading right-to-
is very much
we have become accustomed to in half
57), in the right Man
drawings, as well drawing
as his earlier prints.
the shading is
onal of
is the contour shading configuration,
the biceps ofan t
er right arm in the drawing.
defined by aWe see this
contoured
ty in the raised arm
ingof the hag
strokes holding
crossing it.
in the left half of the Battle
the left half of theaBat
. Perhaps m
parison can be made lels between
with the the
drawnchest
M
two drawings, Man the
on contouring
a Stone Slab of
andshat
pectoral
(fig. 1 1), on the one hand, muscles. This
and the chest
Battle. In the Man iton a Stone Slab
indicates there
a change in
slightly contour thehow this should
shading strokesbe al
c
curves of the pectoral
in the muscles,
Man on and in t
a Stone
forecast
area there is a slight crossingthe
of fully
strokes r
flattening of this area. The heavier
Mantegna's sha
final prin
right side of the proper left pectoral
My assessment sho
of the
somewhat (fig.
curved at 60)rightmost
their in the chrono
ext
cate the a 180-degree
roundness turn
of the form. in
In th

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 MANTEGNA 37

60. Andrea Mantegna, Virgin and Ch

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38 MANTEGNA

62. Detail of Virgin and

63. Detail of fig. 58.

6i. Detail of fig. 60.

should feel in good company, since K

speaking of Mantegna's early develo
maker, said, 'The first stage of it
exemplified in the seated "Madonna a
which the strokes are laid on in a roug
less regular manner, and frequently to
shadings, giving a somewhat blurred
may consequendy infer it to be the f
experiments'.33 Kristeller is discussin
of lines made by the burin and, if I in
ing, an irregular system of engraved
64. Detail of Virgin and
still agree with Kristeller's assessmen
regular shading in the - Virgin and Ch
that the irregularity seen in this prin
The similarities
loosening of the engraving system thin
in the Battle of theBattle of the
Sea Gods. Sea Gods ,
and Child would seem
final stage of a cont
33. Kristeller, op. cit., contour
p. 392. shading that

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 MANTEGNA 39
Gods and the Man on a Stone Slab is
Virgin and Child . The beautifull
shading of the Virgin's and Child's
well to those examples already m
previous works. This change in c
form contrasts with the shading of
the Risen Christ , the Entombment , an
in the Battle , where the lines are a
tour of the face, as opposed to th
where the shading sofdy follows
face.
The contour shading in the drapery of the Virgin and
Child is much freer and less constrained than that in the
Man on a Stone Slab. In the engraving, the shading devel- 65. Detail of fig. 60.
ops a monumental aspect not found in the drawing. I
point not only to the roundness of the drape of the
Virgin's cloak around her proper right arm, which is
accentuated by shading following its contour; even
more suggestive is the Virgin's draped proper right leg.
The shading along its contour is quite variable and
unique, the strokes curving and bending with the form.
The meaning is clear - this is a real person of flesh and
bone. The monumental, and at the same time human,
aspect of this piece is in no small measure due to the
freedom of shading and line. This freedom shows itself
in a variety of hook and calligraphic strokes (fig. 62),
particularly in the drapery, and is very much in keeping
with similar strokes in the Man on a Stone Slab (fig. 63),
and the right half of the Battle of the Sea Gods.
One of the great wonders of this print is the soft,
66. Detail of Virgin and Child (London, British Museum).
almost chalk-like quality of the lightest lines. It is the
same effect as in the right half of the Battle , where the
combination of shallow strokes and granular ink pro-
duced a soft drypoint-like line.34 Here the lines are
sometimes even shallower, for example, again in the
baby's face (fig. 64), where the shallow lines are perhaps
part of the underdrawing and then certain areas are
accented with later heavier burin strokes. These lighter
and heavier strokes create depth and gradation of tone.
The 'later shadings' that Kristeller mentions are just
that - later heavier strokes laid on for clarity and
emphasis. We can see clearly the use of a burin, and no
evidence of drypoint.
While there is still some 'layering' of lighter and then
heavier strokes, as seen before, there seems less effort in
layering in a stricdy systematic way. This drapery area
67. Detail of fig. 60.

34. A. Hind, Early Italian Engraving: A Critical Catalogue with Complete

Reproductions of all the Prints Described, Part 11, v, London 1948, pp.
4-5. Hind notes the 'broken or dotted character of line' in early
impressions as resulting from a 'dry ink with light pressure in
printing'.

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 40 MANTEGNA

(fig. 65), with acteristics

itsof the hand that makes these seven engrav- set
alternating
strokes, compares very
ings unique. In so doing, well
I have distinguished this hand to
chest in the Battle (fig.
from the two less talented 57).
engravers who attempted toThis
approach to engraved
imitate it. Complementing my findingsshading,
in this regard is
er to the kind the recently
of discovered
shading contract between Mantegna
seen i
In this example and the engraver
we Zohanne
can Cavalli, who,
see it appears,
that
ticularly, are remained
curved in Mantegna's circleslightly
for many years, since he to
compares well was
not
present at theonly to
signing of Mantegna's will inthe
1504.36 ch
siren in the Battle but also to that in the Man on a Stone This raises, of course, the possibility that for years
Slab . Cavalli and perhaps others were making prints after
In contrast to the changes we see in contour shading Mantegna's designs with his blessing. That Mantegna
in the Battle and the Virgin and Child from the earlier could make engravings himself and also hire other
engravings, the heavy contour lines are executed in the engravers is, to my mind, not mutually exclusive. In
same intense manner. In the Virgin's thumbs, for fact, given his meticulous nature, it is totally credible
instance (fig. 66), the contour lines are made, as before, that Mantegna would use his seven 'prototype' engrav-
with overlapping and sometimes repeated strokes of ings to serve as exemplars for the hired promulgators of
the burin. The contour lines seen here and around the his style.
child's eye (fig. 64), are executed in similar fashion toI have voiced doubt whether Mantegna developed a
those in Pan's eye in the Battle and, further back, to the
double parallel shading system in his engravings to imi-
face of St John in the Entombment and St Andrew in tate the a return stroke in his drawings, since there is no
consistent use of that technique in drawings attributed
Risen Christ. This characteristic thread of line intensity
to him. Replicating in engraving the shading style of a
or virtuosity of line is the connecting link among these
seven engravings, and is undoubtedly an instinctive drawing like that for the Risen Christ (in which there is
characteristic of the mind and hand of this engraver. not a double parallel or zigzag shading system) may
This same instinctive quality is found in Mantegna's have proven insufficient to his creative needs in a new
drawings with their 'repetitive, questioning line'.35 medium. Or perhaps other engravings influenced him
But what of the working method that I suggestedinatthis direction. But if the idea for this change came
the beginning was so useful in determining this hand? from outside influences, he quickly made the new tech-
There seems little evidence of it in this print. Has nique his own: Mantegna's engraving is a distinctive
Mantegna's simplification of engraving style and a newcombination of meticulous planning and inventive
expressive freedom done away with it altogether? spontaneity. The latter quality is what is missing in the
Not quite. Here, in the Virgin's proper right shoulder
Risen Christ engraving and is precisely what is found in
(fig. 67), we can see traces of this faint underdrawing
later prints in the core group. By defining an engraving
using the double parallel shading system Mantegna
programme and developing a 'structural' shading
had begun in the Entombment. There is more of this scheme, Mantegna could free himself in other ways.
under-layer visible most clearly in the drapery on the
His spontaneous sketches in the plate, combined with
meticulous light underdrawing in simple parallel
left side, where the line work is less dense. In the Virgin
and Child as a whole, however, this lineage of the past is
strokes, characterize his artistic personality perfectly. In
a very subtle reminder of the tremendous evolution the final engraved layering with deeper shading and
that has taken place within these seven engravings. contour strokes, he worked creatively and in many
In looking at these seven prints in the detailed way I improvisationally. The static quality of the Risen
cases
have described, one can obviously lose track of the Christ has been replaced in the Entombment by vibrant
superb overall mastery of their composition and movement, not only in the overall composition but in
draughtsmanship. On the other hand, I believe a finer the dynamic quality of its engraving.
appreciation can be gained of the distinctive hand inThe question of how Poliamolo and undoubtedly
these engravings if one can actually see that handother at influences fit into Mantegna's engraved work is
work. In this article I have tried to determine the char- unresolved. It seems clear, though, that this is more

35. Lincoln, op. cit., p. 45. 36. Canova, op. cit.

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 MANTEGNA 41

than a simple case

believe of
we must find those initialone-side
stages in Mantegna's
Poliamolo to
Mantegna.37 Unfortu
Entombment. As a goldsmith and metalworker, Pollai-
to work with in Pollaiuolo's case: there is no set of
uolo, on seeing the Entombment , must have realized the
engravings through which we can track a changing or
potential of its shading programme in his own hands.38
He could carry Mantegna's system one step further
evolving hand as we have in the case of the core group.
Perhaps that is because there was no evolution, simply
with ease. The Battle of the Naked Men , if not simply an
a highly competitive one-time rendering of mastery anatomical model sheet for other engravers to follow, is
and expertise. The more puzzling question is how also in part a treatise on Pollaiuolo's mastery of engrav-
Poliamolo developed his amazingly fluid 'return' or ing: the double parallel stroke is carried to its most ele-
gant conclusion - the 'imitation return' or zigzag
zigzag stroke? He certainly did not use his own draw-
ings as models, for most of them have no shading atstroke.39
all. That Mantegna subsequently absorbed
Alison Wright's contention that there must have beenPollaiuolo's
a elegant modification in the Bacchanals, and
then more or less dispensed with it in the Battle in
back-and-forth competition of sorts between these two
ambitious artists seems right. Pollaiuolo's highly styl-
favour of his own original (but modified) ideas, lends
ized shading strokes, used repetitively throughout credence
the to Mantegna's proprietary creativity in this
bodies of the nude men, is the end-stage of a shading
regard. Mantegna's further modifications and simplifi-
method. It is highly unlikely that he could have devel-
cation in the Virgin and Child bring his engraving style
oped such a strategy a priori, with no initial develop-
almost full circle: an engraving with all the subtlety,
ment. Lacking earlier engravings by Poliamolo, I
warmth and feeling of the best of his drawings.

37. Wright, op. cit., pp. 72-90. Cropper, pp. 175-80. Landau sees a somewhat different scenario
38. Landau, 'Printmaking in the Age of Lorenzo', Florentine Drawing of influence on Poliamolo.
39. L. Ettlinger, Antonio and Piero Poliamolo , Oxford 1978, pp. 31-35
at the Time of Lorenzo the Magnificent , papers from a Colloquium
held at the Villa Spelman in Florence, 1992, edited by E.and 146-47; see also Wright, op. cit.

Goya's Tauromaquia
A Criticism of Bullfighting?

Frank I. Heckes

In recent years historians have increasingly ques-

and basically considered this series to be an historical
and documentary account of the art of bullfighting.1
tioned Goya's intentions in etching the series popular-
ly known as La Tauromaquia. Nineteenth-century This interpretation has been continued by some mod-
ern scholars, but others have challenged it and offered
scholars viewed Goya as an aficionado of the bullfight

Some of the ideas in this article inspired a section of my essayi in

. Théophile Gautier portrayed Goya as a consummate aficionado of
bullfighting and felt that in the Tauromaquia series the artist com-
Reason and Folly: The Prints of Francisco Goya, Melbourne 1998. 1 would
like to thank the Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores for the grant that bined reality and fantasy, adding 'his own mysterious shadows
enabled me to carry out research on Goya's La Tauromaquia in Spainand colors from his own imagination'. Valentin Carderera
during 1996. 1 am particularly grateful for the assistance offered me described Goya as dressing in the style of a bullfighter when
in Madrid by Doña Rocio Arnáez and the staff of the Museo del attending corridas. Charles Yriarte stated that Goya in his youth
Prado, Doña Elena Santiago and the staff of the Sección de Bellas
had actually joined a cuadrilla, or bullfighting team, and killed
Artes y Estampas at the Biblioteca Nacional, and Dr Juan Carretebulls in the ring. On these nineteenth-century views, see N.
Parrondo and the staff of the Calcografía Nacional. I would also likeGlendinnine, Goya and His Critics, New Haven and London 1977,
to thank Irena Zdanowicz and the staff of the Department of Prints PP. 77-78, 88-89.
and Drawings at the National Gallery of Victoria.

PRINT QUARTERLY, XVIII, 2001, I

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