Marcantonio Raimondi: Thief · Collaborator · Communicator

Marcantonio Raimondi occupies a prominent, if awkward, place in the history of printmaking. 

Notorious for ripping off the designs of Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) and famous as Raphael’s personal engraver, Marcantonio is sometimes seen as a human Xerox machine. He was, however, a gifted interpreter who could transform drawings and paintings into clear, elegant, reproducible printed images. 

He democratized Renaissance art, making the ideas of great artists available to a public that had no access to elite palaces or distant churches. 

This exhibition offers a direct comparison between Dürer’s woodcuts and Marcantonio’s engravings and shows highlights of Marcantonio’s collaborations with Raphael.

Credit: Overview from museum website