Echi e testimonianze della scultura antica nella produzione grafica di Marcantonio Raimondi

Abstract

The fervent humanistic and antiquarian environment of Bologna at the time of Giovanni II Bentivoglio produced an articulated reflection about the ancient world which resulted in the creation of collections of antiquities and erudite curiosities, philological reinterpretations of classical texts and reenactments of myth. The most important artists operating in Bologna between the Late Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth centuries participated to the phenomenon. In the light of this, the way Marcantonio Raimondi dealt with antique models is here outlined through the analysis of echoes and reproductions of ancient sculptures in his graphic works before entering the circle of Raphael. This contributed to the protoclassicism of his youthful years, projecting him towards the mature classicism of the following Roman period.