Disegni Del Mantegna
Print
1795-7 (printed)
1795-7 (printed)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Despite Francecso Novelli’s series of prints being titled ‘Disegni Del Mantegna’, the drawings which the engravings are based upon are in fact those produced by Italian painter and draughtsman Marco Zoppo. Discovered in Padua during the eighteenth century, the drawings were wrongly attributed to Andrea Mantegna by Novelli, resulting in him producing his series of prints in regards to Mantegna. The title-page of the series features a bust portrait of Mantegna, as well as an inscription praising the artist, whilst a majority of the plates feature Mantegna’s name as the draughtsman. The collection of drawings, which are now held in the collection of the British Museum, were considered to be the work of Mantegna until 1923, when Claude Phillips instigated the notion that the drawings could have in fact been produced by Zoppo. Although fifty drawings in pen and ink on parchment by Zoppo are featured in the volume, the collection of engravings by Novelli contains forty-four plates, with a frontispiece, and two pages of dedication featured alongside. Despite the dedication noting that the series contained fifty plates, only forty-four were produced. The series would have originally been issued as loose plates, so the card portfolio that the plates are now bound within would have been a later addition.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Title | Disegni Del Mantegna (series title) |
Materials and techniques | printer's ink, paper, engraving |
Brief description | Plate 25 from Francesco Novelli's 'Disegni Del Mantegna', depicting two soldiers, and two putti. |
Physical description | Engraving of a pair of soldiers and a pair of putti, with production names inscribed in lower corners. |
Dimensions |
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Content description | A pair of soldiers and a pair of putti are depicted within a rocky landscape. The soldiers, shown full-length and directed towards the viewer, stand side by side, holding a long stick between them. Whilst the soldier to the right hold a shield with his left hand, his companion lifts his right hand to rest upon his waist. The putti are depicted standing between the soldiers. Whilst one of the putti looks to the ground, the other gazes up towards the soldiers, raising a helmet towards them. |
Style | |
Marks and inscriptions |
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Subjects depicted | |
Association | |
Summary | Despite Francecso Novelli’s series of prints being titled ‘Disegni Del Mantegna’, the drawings which the engravings are based upon are in fact those produced by Italian painter and draughtsman Marco Zoppo. Discovered in Padua during the eighteenth century, the drawings were wrongly attributed to Andrea Mantegna by Novelli, resulting in him producing his series of prints in regards to Mantegna. The title-page of the series features a bust portrait of Mantegna, as well as an inscription praising the artist, whilst a majority of the plates feature Mantegna’s name as the draughtsman. The collection of drawings, which are now held in the collection of the British Museum, were considered to be the work of Mantegna until 1923, when Claude Phillips instigated the notion that the drawings could have in fact been produced by Zoppo. Although fifty drawings in pen and ink on parchment by Zoppo are featured in the volume, the collection of engravings by Novelli contains forty-four plates, with a frontispiece, and two pages of dedication featured alongside. Despite the dedication noting that the series contained fifty plates, only forty-four were produced. The series would have originally been issued as loose plates, so the card portfolio that the plates are now bound within would have been a later addition. |
Bibliographic reference | 260
Popham, A E; Pouncey, Philip, The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries, London, BMP, 1950 |
Collection | |
Accession number | E.775-1903 |
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Record created | June 30, 2009 |
Record URL |
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