Holy Family with Two Saints

1540. Chiaroscuro woodcut on cream laid paper with a partial anchor in a circle watermark, printed from two blocks in black and olive-green, 10 3/4 x 8 3/8 inches (272 x 221 mm), thread margins. We believe this to be an early, first state impression (of two), issued from Niccolò Vicentino's workshop. The second state edition printed by Andrea Andreani in the early 17th century includes a monogram added by Andreani, which is not present in our impression. Scattered expert repairs, most notably a 1-inch hook shaped tear in the lower left sheet and a 1/4-inch vertical split in the area of the central figure's left arm. On the verso there is an approximately 3-inch irregular oblong area of brown discoloration in the area of the central figure's head, as well as a 1 1/2-inch irregular area of brown discoloration in the area of the kneeling figure's knee. All condition issues are consistent with age, and repairs appear to have been made with archival materials and state of the art conservation methods. Repairs and areas of discoloration are virtually undetectable without the aide of a black light or a light box while viewing the recto. A comparable first state impression with similar inking may be viewed in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

[Bartsch XII 64.24; Takahatake p.22-23]. This extremely scarce woodcut is after Parmigianino's preliminary drawing for a large canvas entitled Madonna with Saints Margaret, Benedict, Jerome and an Angel, which is currently housed in the Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna. The preparatory drawing in red chalk with white heightening entitled Holy Family with Two Saints (c. 1527-29), is in the permanent collection of the Uffizi Gallery, Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe (accession number 1517E).
The chiaroscuro woodcut image is recognizably different from the drawing. Naoko Takahatake's "The Chiaroscuro Woodcut In Renaissance Italy" p.22-23 provides detailed information concerning the translation from drawing to chiaroscuro woodcut, including photographs on p.23 (fig.10 and fig.11 are images of Parmigianino's drawing and da Trento's chiaroscuro woodcut respectively).

Da Trento is believed to have been an apprentice for Ugo da Carpi in the latter's chiaroscuro woodcut print workshop when Parmgianino established a print workshop in Bologna in about 1527. Parmigianino collaborated with da Carpi and engaged da Trento to make prints, including chiaroscuro woodcuts. Da Trento lived in Parmigianino's house during the years he made prints in his workshop.

According to Giorgio Vasari, da Trento left Parmigianino's house, taking with him print matrices and drawings by Parmigianino. The print matrices were recovered by Parmigianino; da Trento made off with the drawings. It is presumed that da Trento subsequetly entered into a partnership with printmaker Niccolò Vicentino. It is speculated that a number of the woodblock prints after Parmigianino from Vicentino's workshop were made from the drawings stolen by da Trento. After the theft, Parmigianino left Bologna and abandoned printmaking altogether in about 1530.

First state impressions of this work, printed in several pigment combinations, may be found in the permanent collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Uffizi Gallery, the Rijksmuseum, the British Library, the British Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Albertina, among other notable institutions.
The second state edition was printed by Andrea Andreani in the early 17th century (Albertina, HB33.1, p. 84) after he acquired the printing blocks. Andreani added his monogram to the image, making second state impressions quite recognizable. Additionally, the image of the second state differs from the first state by the presence of minor breaks in the fine lines on the bishop's robe, and in the central area of the robe of St. Margaret.