Apostel Johannes de Evangelist met miskelk en adelaar 1517 - 1527

This engraving of the Apostle John the Evangelist, was made by Marcantonio Raimondi in the early 16th century. It’s rendered on paper using a printing plate, a matrix typically made of copper. The image is made through the precise, repetitive labor of incising lines into the metal. Look closely, and you’ll see how the density and direction of these lines create tone, texture, and volume. The Apostle John is holding a chalice with a serpent, and an eagle stands at his feet. Notice the contrast between the smoothness of John’s face and the feathery texture of the eagle. Engraving like this was at the heart of a new, expanded visual culture. Because of the labor involved, prints like this were not cheap, and the wealthy were able to acquire art in multiples. This reflects the increasingly complex relationship between art, production, and consumption in the Renaissance. Raimondi’s skill, the printing process, and the networks of distribution that enabled prints like this to circulate, all contributed to the wider circulation of artistic ideas. By attending to these factors, we can better understand the significance of this image in its time.