A naked young man walking left, carrying a lantern and looking backwards over his shoulder at a ram
Original title: A naked young man walking left, carrying a lantern and looking backwards over his shoulder at a ram
kurzbeschreibung
Unlike the many contemporary nude studies left bare of attributes, this engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi, made between about 1510 and 1527, pairs a naked young man with two telling accessories: a lantern in his right hand and a ram, toward which he turns as he walks. The finely worked print sets the figures in an Arcadian landscape, joining the nude study to a scenic backdrop.
Description
Stepping to the left, the young man moves forward while his upper body twists slightly back and his gaze goes over his right shoulder to the ram. A sash or cloth lies across his left shoulder; his lowered right hand holds the lantern. Beside him stands the ram with long, wavy fleece, engraved in many details. A hilly landscape with trees and a church with a tower gives the image spatial depth. The layout is clearly ordered, and carefully graded light and shadow make figures and landscape stand out in relief.
Context
Marcantonio Raimondi, an Italian engraver of the Renaissance, is best known for his reproductive prints after works by Raphael. This sheet belongs to his mature period in Rome, where he worked from about 1510. The nude youth with the ram may allude to antique models or mythological themes popular in the Renaissance. Nothing is recorded about the print's exact purpose; it belongs to a group of single sheets with Arcadian motifs from this time.
Impact
A calm, contemplative mood emanates from the print, carried by the youth's backward glance and the gentle landscape. The fine linework and balanced lighting give the scene something almost idyllic and draw the viewer into the Arcadian world. Precision of the engraving and harmonious arrangement attest to Raimondi's skill in rendering body and space.
Technique
The work was made as an engraving: lines are cut into a copper plate and then printed on paper. Raimondi used fine, parallel hatching and cross-hatching to model shadow and volume and to give the figures plastic effect. Clean linework and differentiated tonal values characterize his prints and show his high technical facility.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)