351 - Fall of Icarus - Raffaello Guidi, Cavaliere D'Arpino

Fall of Icarus - Raffaello Guidi, Cavaliere D'Arpino Description: The fall of Icarus who tumbles from the sky shedding feathers, below his father Daedalus with outstretched hands, the sun appears in the top right; engraved by Raffaello Guidi; invented by Cesari d'Arpino; Published by: Cesare Capranica (1589-1601 fl.). Lettered with eight lines of description on either side of a cartouche. Before 1600 Engraving Dimensions: 44,20 x 28,30 cm Condition: Excellent early impression with good plate tone and the guide lines for the text still visible. Trimmed on plate border. Excellent condition with no folds tears ort stains. Tipped with four corners on a collection sheet. Literature: Raffaello Guidi (printmaker; Italian; 1585 - 1615; fl.) Engraver; from Florence and active in Rome. In 1612 living near the palazzo Sauli with his son Michele (Bertolotti, 1885). 4 May 1602 made an agreement with Giovanni Turpino: Guidi owed money to Turpin and Thomassin 'per varie figure stampate nella bottega' (Bruwaert and Bertolotti, 1886). Thomassin and Turpin acquired plates of Guidi's (Bruwaert). R.G.F. (see Nagler) appears on a 1585 copy of Master M.G.'s engraving after Barocci's Madonna with St John. Baglione records his engravings after the Cavalier d'Arpino. Bibliography M. Bury, 'The Print in Italy 1550-1625', British Museum, London 2001, p.227 . Giuseppe Cesari d'Arpino (painter/draughtsman; Italian; 1568 - 1640) Painter. Giuseppe Cesari, called the Cavaliere d'Arpino, b. Rome 1568, d. Baglione explains that he chose to be called 'd'Arpino' because his father came from there, and because of the connection between the place and his earliest patrons, the Buon-compagni. His first independent work was a house façade in Rome, painted when he was about 13. Later employed in the Vatican, in the Logge of Gregory XIII under supervision of Niccolò Circignaniand Ignazio Danti. In Sala Vecchia degli Svizzeri he painted 'Samson with the Gates of Gaza' and in Sala dei Palafrenieri (or Chiaroscuri). 1 Jan. 1586 admitted to Virtuosi al Pantheon already a member of Accademia di S. Luca of which he served as 'Principe' in 1599, 1615 and 1629. One of the most important painters of his period. Text from Michael Bury, 'The Print in Italy 1550-1620', London, 2001, no.100.) The dedication to Pietro Bernini, father of the Gian Lorenzo, was Guidi's. Both were Florentines; but for many years Bernini had been working in Naples. The nature of the dedication, in which Guidi declares how much he misses his absent friend, has a strongly personal note. It is possible that Guidi sold the plate to Cesare Capranica, having originally published it himself, but the way Capranica's address is written makes it more likely that they had an arrangement from the start, with Capranica keeping the plate while Guidi determined the dedication. It was mentioned by Baglione as especially fine and he commented in general on the excellence of Guidi's engravings after Cesari (as later Baldinucci did, 1767, p.8). In 1599, in preparation for the Jubilee year of 1600, Cesari gained the commission for the painted decoration of the huge transept of S. Giovanni in Laterano. His success in organizing a whole team of artists to carry the work through to rapid conclusion, led to him being created a knight of St Peter, probably in 1600 (Freiberg, 1995, p.82). As there is no reference to his title of 'il cavalier d'Arpino', this engraving must predate that event. He presumably provided Guidi with a drawing. Also see Röttgen, 'Il Cavalier Giuseppe Cesari d'Arpino', 2002, cat. No.VI, p. 516. Medium: Engraving Date: 1599-1600