Madonna con Bambino e San Giovannino

In this print most likely designed by Francesco Mazzola, or Il Parmigianino (“the little one from Parma”) and printed by Antonio da Trento, the Virgin holds the Christ Child in her lap as the young John the Baptist stands beside them. The print is also known as the Virgin of the Roses after the flowers which May holds and which bloom in the background.

Chiaroscuro woodcuts were especially popular in sixteenth-century Italy where both the striking color effects and the requisite craftsmanship were much appreciated. As with other 16th century printwork in metal and stone, woodcut art involved transferring a drawing on paper onto the matrix of another material.The design would then be engraved as a wood relief. Renaissance woodcutters typically used delicate knives and gouges to cut into pear, cherry, or boxwood. This direct incision work, in contrast to the indirect, corrosion-based techniques of aquatint and aquaforte, was rough and harsh; the soft, organic forms of Madonna con Bambino are thus a tribute to Il Parmigianino’s artistry. This type of print is produced from multiple woodblocks and more than one color of ink. It is a process that requires careful attention to the line work and the registering of each print as it is pulled. Designs, often involving religious iconography like that of the Virgin Mary and child, would then be pressed onto dye and distributed. The chiaroscuro woodcut technique is comparable to that of the more colorful Japanese woodblock prints to be seen elsewhere in this exhibition.

Hannah London ‘21

Similar Images (Woodcuts)