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拍品專文
A highly dramatic and cruel subject from the Gospel of Matthew (2:16-18), The Massacre of the Innocents represents a crucial moment in the careers of both Raphael and Marcantonio Raimondi, and marks a turning point in the history of printmaking. The engraving is based on Raphael's first composition specifically conceived for the purpose of being 'translated' into the print medium, and to thereby reach a much broader audience than any painting could ever do. The aim was to circulate Raphael's invention as widely as possible and to promote his fame as an artist. Various preparatory drawings are known, documenting the gradual and meticulous development of the composition. The earliest is a pen and brown ink and red chalk drawing in the British Museum (inv. 1860,0414.446), in which Raphael drew the figures nude, to help him develop the positions of the bodies. A second sketch, in red chalk (Royal Collection, inv. RLIN912737), focuses on the secondary figures and play of light over the soldiers' musculature. The penultimate stage of the composition, only lacking the infants and the architectural setting (an element possibly left to Marcantonio to add), can be seen in a drawing in Budapest (Museum of Fine Arts, Inv. 2195), variously attributed to Raphael and Marcantonio, is pricked for transfer and aligns exactly with the contours of the engraving. There can be little doubt that this drawing served Marcantonio as the modello for the engraving.
The Massacre of the Innocents marks the beginning of an important artistic and commercial collaboration between Raphael and the young and talented Marcantonio, who had just arrived from his native Bologna in Rome. The design of the composition takes inspiration from Raphael's Judgement of Solomon in the Stanza della Segnatura, and thus marks a new style and ambition in the artist's career, as he moved from graceful portraits and Madonnas to more monumental and complex compositions to rival Michelangelo. The Massacre is Raphael's first contribution to the tradition of Italian battle scenes, which were always intended as show pieces, such as Pollaiuolo's Battle of the Nudes, Leonardo's Battle of Anghiari and Michelangelo's Battle of Cascina. Both the name of the inventor and of the engraver are stated on the plate, giving Marcantonio an important acknowledgment.
The print exists in two versions: in the first version a fir tree can be seen at upper right; in the second version, such as the present example, this is replaced by a deciduous tree. It is widely accepted that both versions were engraved by Marcantonio, raising the question why a near-identical plate was produced. It has been speculated that Raimondi made his own plate to benefit from the commercial success of the composition, while the first plate was being printed by Raphael's publisher Il Baviera. However, it seems more likely that the first plate was very popular and printed in such numbers, that it wore down quickly and needed replacing with a brand new copperplate to satisfy the market's demand.
The Massacre of the Innocents marks the beginning of an important artistic and commercial collaboration between Raphael and the young and talented Marcantonio, who had just arrived from his native Bologna in Rome. The design of the composition takes inspiration from Raphael's Judgement of Solomon in the Stanza della Segnatura, and thus marks a new style and ambition in the artist's career, as he moved from graceful portraits and Madonnas to more monumental and complex compositions to rival Michelangelo. The Massacre is Raphael's first contribution to the tradition of Italian battle scenes, which were always intended as show pieces, such as Pollaiuolo's Battle of the Nudes, Leonardo's Battle of Anghiari and Michelangelo's Battle of Cascina. Both the name of the inventor and of the engraver are stated on the plate, giving Marcantonio an important acknowledgment.
The print exists in two versions: in the first version a fir tree can be seen at upper right; in the second version, such as the present example, this is replaced by a deciduous tree. It is widely accepted that both versions were engraved by Marcantonio, raising the question why a near-identical plate was produced. It has been speculated that Raimondi made his own plate to benefit from the commercial success of the composition, while the first plate was being printed by Raphael's publisher Il Baviera. However, it seems more likely that the first plate was very popular and printed in such numbers, that it wore down quickly and needed replacing with a brand new copperplate to satisfy the market's demand.