Man seated viewed from behind (Narcissus)
Upon returning to Bologna after the Sack of Rome in 1527, Parmigianino started working with the printmaker Antonio da Trento, who, according to the sixteenth-century artist and biographer Giorgio Vasari, also lived with the artist. Their collaboration led to highly skilled compositions, including 'Narcissus' from Ovid’s 'Metamorphoses'. Two blocks inked with different hues of brown provide the middle tones, the outlines from the keyblock are printed in black, and the exposed white of the paper creates the highlights. Though the relationship between Parmigianino and Antonio da Trento was initially productive, it soon ended when, in Vasari’s telling, the printmaker left the artist’s home one morning having stolen numerous prints and drawings.
Artwork Details
- Title: Man seated viewed from behind (Narcissus)
- Artist: Antonio da Trento (Italian, Trento 1520–1550 Bologna)
- Artist: After Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola) (Italian, Parma 1503–1540 Casalmaggiore)
- Date: ca. 1527–30
- Medium: Chiaroscuro woodcut printed from two blocks in brown
- Dimensions: Sheet: 14 7/8 × 11 1/4 in. (37.8 × 28.5 cm)
Plate: 11 5/16 × 7 3/8 in. (28.8 × 18.8 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1922
- Object Number: 22.73.3-44
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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