Marcantanio Raimondi (1480-1527), Essay Example

Marcantanio Raimondi (1480-1527) was an Italian printmaker and engraver, closely connected to the concepts that underlay the artistic movement of the High Renaissance. In his engraving “Trajan Crowned by Victory”, which is estimated to have been composed during the period 1520-1525, Raimondi demonstrates some of the most fundamental aspects of the Renaissance approach to art. In this view, one views not only not Raimondi’s commitment to a specific aesthetic principle, which the Renaissance championed, on the level of form, but also a very distinct commitment on the level of content, above all due to the imagery of pre-Christian Europe, which contributed to the Renaissance’s radical departure from the Christian religious art of the Middle Ages.

Raimondi was closely linked to circles of Renaissance artists, above all Raphael. From the period of 1513 until Raphael’s death in 1520, Raimondi was “devoted to engraving Raphael’s work.” (Artcyclopedia) This includes a close fidelity to the Renaissance movement, in so far as Raphael is a decisive figure in this aesthetic revolution. Raimondi’s own relationship to the movement can thus, firstly, be understood as an almost dutiful re-inaction of the crucial artists of the Renaissance, which demonstrates that he felt a close affinity on an artistic level with the ideals of the movement, and, secondly, an attempt to expand these basic principles into fields such as engraving and printmaking through his own skills and original contributions. As an engraver, Raimondi, therefore, primarily worked with source material derived from others and then translated it into a different medium. Instead of thinking of this as merely a copy, another perspective is that it shows Raimondi’s belief in Renaissance principles and his desire to transmit these principles into his own area of specialty.

The subject of “Trajan Crowned by Victory” is a victory scene which is found on the Arch of Constantine. (Art Institute Chicago) The scene is dedicated to Constantine’s victory over the Dacian tribe, thus representing a decisive historical victory for the Roman Empire over an antagonist. (Art Institute Chicago) Raimondi’s work is taken from the bas-relief of the Arch of Constantine. (Art Institute Chicago)

In this work, the viewer encounters some of the fundamental themes of the Renaissance. In one sense, following Raimondi’s aesthetic logic in the work, the Renaissance was not a radical break with the past, but instead was a recovery of the historical past. Namely, in so far as Raimondi chose a pre-Christian work of art as the subject for this engraving, this indicates that what could be considered contemporary from the perspective of the Renaissance was in fact something that in fact had already been portrayed approximately 1500 years before.

When placed in contrast with the Middle Ages, the work, however, appears radical: it does not, for example, dedicate itself to mystical or theological contemplation, but is a representation of brute earthly force and violence, taking the victorious leader against the barbarous enemy as its theme. One does not encounter the ascetic humility of Christian art in this piece, but a vibrant pagan piece of art that celebrates the physicality and materiality of human existence in its violent and conquering forms, as a type of pure force of life.

For these reasons, Raimondi’s work provides a crucial entrance into the Renaissance period because of its lack of ambiguity. From his selection of source material for his engraving to the manner in which he emphasizes the pagan historical past of a world that was distinctly in contrast to the Christian world, Raimondi signifies a significant Renaissance artist who captures the fundamental concepts of the movement.

References

“Marcantonio Raimondi.” Artcyclopedia. Retrieved October 19, 2015 at http://wwar.com/masters/r/raimondi-marcantonio.html

“Marcantonio Raimondi ‘Trajan Crowned by Victory’”. Art Institute Chicago. Retrieved October 19, 2015 at http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/111555