349 - Mario Cartaro – The Descent from the Cross – 1570 – after a Mantegnesque invention

Mario Cartaro – The Descent from the Cross – 1570 – after a Mantegnesque invention Description: A large and highly accomplished engraving of the Descent from the Cross. The dead body of Christ is carefully lowered from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, while the mourning Virgin and the holy women gather below; the two thieves remain bound to their crosses at either side, with an extensive view of Jerusalem in the background. Engraved by Mario Cartaro (Marius Cartarus), one of the most interesting printmakers active in Rome during the second half of the sixteenth century. Signed and dated in the plate at lower left: 1570 / Marius Kartarus incideb. The composition ultimately derives from a Mantegnesque invention, while recent scholarship identifies Cartaro's engraving more specifically as after a print attributed to Nicolas Beatrizet; only the central group closely corresponds to the earlier Mantegnesque model. A fascinating example of the transmission and reinterpretation of Mantegna's highly influential visual language through successive generations of Italian Renaissance printmakers. Reference: Bartsch XV.522.5; Cattaneo 12 (only state). Dimensions: 41,50 x 32,50 cm Condition: Good impression on laid paper, with the full plate border, with good margins, without visible watermark. Expert restoration of some tears in the bottom right margin. Overall in a very good condition. Literature: Bartsch XV.522.5; Cattaneo 12 (only state). Medium: Engraving Date: 1570