Federico Barocci (1535-1612) by Francesco Villamena (1565-1624) - Il perdono di San Francesco - Rara- lastra grande

Christ, flanked by the Virgin and Saint Nicholas of Bari (with book and three golden balls) , appears to Saint Francis kneeling in prayer in the Porziuncola chapel.
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RARE
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Technique: Etching, burin and drypoint.
Large sheet
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Bible: The Illustrated Bartsch 4
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From a drawing by Villamena from the panel for the altar of the church of the Observant Franciscans of Urbino by Federico Barocci
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For the engraving that Barocci made he requested and obtained a papal privilege valid for ten years, for which no one could engrave or copy or reproduce this specific subject without the artist's permission.
Barocci's engraving. The ecstasy of St. Francis, called The Forgiveness of Assisi, represents an interior without distances or openings to the sky, that is, the chapel of the Porziuncola; it is therefore engraved with a flat etch, that is, with a single acid bath, uniform in all its parts.
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This plate, which reproduces the painting created for the church of S. Francesco in Urbino, is the largest and most complete by Barocci
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Contents of the inscription: Letter with four lines of Latin verses on the left: 'Ostendit Christus. . . sancta domus', and above with production detail: 'Fediricus Baroius Inve.
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Part of the inscription was previously trimmed. The state of conservation trimmed on the edge of the plate is good, the missing part anciently restored at the bottom right, applied on a strengthened laid sheet from the early 18th century.
On the back text written in ancient German with brown ink which explains the symbols and the ethical attribution.
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Francesco Villamena. Painter, draftsman and engraver, born in Assisi in 1566 (?) , died in Rome in 1626. He settled in Rome around 1590 and became a pupil of Lornelis Cort, then remaining in the stylistic orbit of Agostino Carracci. He revealed his genius with a Final Judgment engraved by his own invention, which was followed in 1594 by a series of prints illustrating the life of St. Francis.
Villamena is a virtuoso of the burin, a very skilled technician, who knows all the possibilities of the stroke and the crossing of lines, making use of a clear, vigorous, clean, often crude sign.
He has recorded his own compositions and reproduced works by Raphael, Caliari, Barocci, Muziano, Giulio Romano and others,
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BAROCCI (Baroccio) , Federico, known as Fiori
He was probably born in 1535 in Urbino to a family of artists
Chronologically his activity coincides with the period of the "manner" and this helps to understand his original style; like most of the paintings of the end of the century. XVI, Barocci's paintings are full of figures represented in vigorous action. On the other hand, while the figures of the mannerists often present exaggerated attitudes and unnatural deformations, his figures remain adherent to the organic structure and their attitudes directly express the psychological situation. Following the spatial concepts of "manner", he preferred a limited pictorial view: his usual formula consisted of a perspective that quickly drops into a narrow foreground and then quickly rises upwards.
For the first time in the history of art he represents religious mysticism by transporting the scene into a sphere completely detached from any narrative element, in direct communication with the celestial source of revelation.
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Note that in the British Museum there is Saint Augustine in the description, but it is erroneous because the Saint in the engraving is Saint Nicholas of Bari (as described in the National Chalcography) with his attributes, pastoral staff, book and three golden spheres .
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Rare impression from a private collection accompanied by certificate of authenticity
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#artmasterpiece. Q2