Allegory of Death and Fame ('The Skeletons') (B. 425; Le Blanc 31)

Details

Marco Dente (circa 1493-1527) after Rosso Fiorentino (1494-1540)
Allegory of Death and Fame ('The Skeletons') (B. 425; Le Blanc 31)
engraving, after 1518, a good, dark impression, before Salamanca's address, trimmed to the subject above and below and circa 8 mm. into the subject at left and 20 mm. at right, a made-up paper loss at the lower left corner, another at the centre below, several other repaired tears and smaller paper losses
S. 284 x 407 mm.

Literature

G. Luijten (ed.), La Bella Maniera - Druckgraphik des Manierismus aus der Sammlung Georg Baselitz, Bern/Berlin, 1994, p. 34, no. 2 (ill.)

Special Notice

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Lot Essay

Due to a misunderstanding in Vasari's Vite, this engraving was traditionally thought to be based on a composition by Baccio Bandinelli. However, it is very closely related to a drawing by Rosso Fiorentino in the Uffizi. A copy of the drawing, also in the Uffizi, has been attributed to the engraver Marco Dente. It shows how the printmarker developed and added to the composition prior to working on the plate. Rosso's drawing is dated 1517, which serves as the terminus post quem for this highly excentric print.

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