Mars, Venus and Cupid

Name: MARCANTONIO RAIMONDI (1480-1534)
Brand: Mars, Venus and Cupid
Price: 1000.00 GBP
Availability: SoldOut

Price Realised GBP 1,260

Estimate

GBP 1,500 - GBP 2,500

Closed: 21 Mar 2025

Loading details

Try our

MARCANTONIO RAIMONDI (1480-1534)

Mars, Venus and Cupid

Price Realised GBP 1,260

Closed: 21 Mar 2025

Price Realised GBP 1,260

Closed: 21 Mar 2025

Details Lot Essay More from

MARCANTONIO RAIMONDI (1480-1534)
Mars, Venus and Cupid
engraving
1508
on laid paper, indistinct watermark, probably Letters Z P in a Circle (similar to Briquet 9725, Brescia, 1512)
a fine, early impression of the very rare first state (of two)
before the later additions on the shield and elsewhere
printing strongly and clearly
trimmed to the subject at right and below, fractionally inside the subject at left and above
some thin spots and repairs, the sheet thinly backed
Sheet 291 x 206 mm.

Bartsch 44; Delaborde 119; Shoemaker 13a

Please note that the starting bid on this lot has been lowered.

Conditions of Sale
FAQs
This lot is offered by Christie Manson & Woods Ltd

Brought to you by

Stefano FranceschiSpecialist

A Christie's specialist may contact you to discuss this lot or to notify you if the condition changes prior to the sale.

sfranceschi@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7752 3103

Lot Essay

This early engraving by Marcantonio is dated 1508 and thus predates his arrival in Rome around 1510, where he would join Raphael's workshop. It has traditionally been thought to be based on a design by Mantegna, but no drawings related to this composition are known today. For the final composition of the print, Marcantonio may have drawn on several other visual sources that he would have seen in Venice and Florence. The figure of Mars suggests his knowledge of Michelangelo's drawing of the and possibly of the cartoon for the The figure of Venus echoes the female nudes of his own engraving known as '' (Bartsch 359), presumably of the same date, while Dürer's engraving () provided a model for the central tree.
The present impression of the first state is a great rarity, and precedes several slightly later changes to the plate, such as the addition of Medusa's head to the shield, of a quiver of arrows at lower right and a flaming torch held by Venus, as well as alterations to the tree branches and the distant landscape.