-
Descent into Limbo
Mantegna, Andrea, born 1430 - died 1506 - Enlarge image
Descent into Limbo
- Object:
Print
- Place of origin:
Mantua, Italy (made)
- Date:
ca. 1475-1480 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Mantegna, Andrea, born 1430 - died 1506 (engraver)
- Materials and Techniques:
Engraving on paper
- Credit Line:
Bequeathed by Constantine Alexander Ionides
- Museum number:
CAI.603
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C, case IONIDES, shelf 13
The composition is famous for the unusual placement of the figure of Christ, with his back to the viewer as he enters into Limbo. It also shows Mantegna's interest in rock formations, which he studied from nature.
There has been some debate about whether Mantegna engraved more than the seven works usually assigned to him, or even whether he engraved any himself. From 1475 Mantegna is known to have been looking for a professional engraver to work for him, but one is not known of until the 1490s.
This print is among those that some scholars include in an expanded list of works engraved by Mantegna himself. The attribution of this work to Mantegna himself is based on comparison between the preparatory drawing and print, showing how changes to the design were engraved directly onto the plate without preparation.
Whether this print was engraved by Mantegna or someone working from his drawings, it reflects a new practice of artists reproducing their drawings in print. Collectors accepted prints taken from drawings as originals to be prized in their own right. From about 1490 Mantegna employed Antonio da Brescia to engrave copies to satisfy this demand for them - included among these is a variation of this composition.
