The Apostle Saint James
Zanetti has here described the pose and drapery of Saint James through layers of colored ink, avoiding printmakers’ traditional reliance on outlines and linear shading. The artist employed a technique known as chiaroscuro woodcut, in which he formed an image by successively printing three woodblocks, each in its own color. He reserved passages of bare paper in order to create the bright highlights seen on the figure’s right arm and shoulder, which contrast with the shadows around his legs and backside. Due to the difficulty of printing chiaroscuro woodcuts, Zanetti was one of only a few eighteenth-century printmakers to practice the technique.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Apostle Saint James
- Artist: Anton Maria Zanetti the Elder (Italian, Venice 1680–1767 Venice)
- Artist: After Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola) (Italian, Parma 1503–1540 Casalmaggiore)
- Date: 1722
- Medium: Chiaroscuro woodcut from three blocks in ochre and blue
- Dimensions: Image: 6 3/16 × 3 1/16 in. (15.7 × 7.8 cm)
Sheet: 6 3/16 × 3 1/16 in. (15.7 × 7.8 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel B. Fuller, 1957
- Object Number: 57.602.11
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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