Plate 1: God Blessing on the Seventh Day, from Genesis Chapter 2, after a lost fresco in the basamento of Bay 1 of the Vatican Loggia
Original title: Plate 1: God Blessing on the Seventh Day, from Genesis Chapter 2, after a lost fresco in the basamento of Bay 1 of the Vatican Loggia
kurzbeschreibung
Pietro Santi Bartoli made this etching between 1650 and 1677. It depicts God blessing the seventh day, after Genesis chapter 2. The print belongs to a series that records lost frescoes from the Vatican Loggia. It is executed in a horizontal format in black and white.
Description
A crowned figure of God the Father sits enthroned on clouds, one hand raised in blessing. Angels in traditional robes surround him, some holding instruments or shown in movement. Below, a hilly landscape spreads out. The layout is symmetrical around the central figure. Fine lines and hatching model contours and shadows, creating a strong contrast between light and dark.
Context
The model was a fresco in the Vatican Loggia, created in Raphael's time and now lost. Bartoli was known in the seventeenth century for his reproductive prints after antique and Renaissance works. The series made the famous Loggia frescoes accessible to a wider public.
Impact
The symmetrical arrangement and the clear light-dark contrast give the sheet a solemn, calm presence. The precise linework results in a detailed yet clearly organized pictorial structure.
Technique
Etching is an intaglio process: the drawing is scratched into an acid-resistant ground on a copper plate. When printed, lines and hatching produce the fine tonal values and contrasts of the monochrome image.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)