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ANDREANI, Andrea, engr. (ca. 1558-1629)-FORTUNA, Giovanni, design. (1535-1611). Triumph of Death with Wheel of Death. Chiaroscuro woodcut from four blocks in beige, light brown, light grey and black. Siena, MDLXXXVIII (1588).

One print on laid pape, 515x342 mm. Bartsch's state 1 of 2 before the center spinning roundel added to the wheel of death (a skeleton holding a cartouche with the suffix "mus" necessary to complete the mottoes of the eight spokes of the wheel, e.g. pri, nequi, superbi, placea, etc.). Andreani's monogram on the right-hand corner at the base of the monument. Trace of central folding, tear repaired on the right margin, pasted on a later paper support. Provenance: collection of the Marqueses de Toca with pencilled note of the curator at the back. Overall very well preserved and with very strong impression.

A magnificent and very elaborate composition depicting, at the top, an entablature with two cherubims bearing down-turned torches, an hourglass and skull; on both sides there are two obelisks surmounted by skulls bearing hieroglyphics and Greek inscriptions on the bases: "Mnēmoneue" (left) and "apopsuchein" (right) ('Remember [you] die'). Below the entablature is a cave in which sit the three Fates; on the front of the moulding on which they are sitting are inscribed the words "Iter ad" (left) and "vitam" (right) ('The journey to life'), while two cartouches protruding on both sides bear the mottoes "Bonis bona" (left, 'Good things to the good') and "Malis mala" (right, 'Bad things to the bad'). The upper part of the monument is supported on the left and right by two standing skeletons. Below the cave is a wheel of death with around its rim the inscription "Omnibus hominibus semel mori post hoc autem iudicium statutum" ('It is laid down that all men die once, but after that [comes] judgment'). The eight spokes of the wheel are engraved with mottoes about death, all of which require the suffix -mus (e.g. pri, nequi, superbi, placea, etc.) for completion. The centre of the wheel is blank, but for the word "mus" written in pencil as in the Wellcome Library's copy. Between the spokes are skulls wearing the headdresses of the mighty (crown, bishop's mitre, papal tiara etc.) laid against crossbones. To the left and right of the wheel are respectively Adam and Eve, below the wheel mourners, the winged head of Father Time, and a sarcophagus decorated with skulls, books, coins, etc., which forms the base of the monument. On the sarcophagus is a cartouche with the inscription "Tria sunt vere quae me faciunt flere" ('There are truly three things which make me weep'), below which is another inscription where the three things are listed: "Primum quidem durum, quia scio me moriturum. Secundum uerò plango, quia moriar, et nescio quando, tertium autem flebo, quia nescio ubi manebo". Left and right, at the feet of the two standing skeletons, are two cartouches held by skeletal hands with skulls above, with the mottoes "Memento mori" and "Memorare novissima". At the bottom left corner of the woodcut, outside the monument, is another inscription ("Illri. D. Petro Caballo I.C. Pontrem. Relig. D. Steph: ordinisque milit: Ser.mi M.D. Hetr: auditori pign: Joh: Fortuna Fortunius inven. Senis MDLXXXVIII"), containing Fortuna's dedication to the jurist and notary Pietro Caballo (or Cavalli) from Pontremoli, who spent two years in Siena before moving to Florence in 1583. In 1586 Caballo was appointed auditor of the Order of St. Stephen; prominent local members of that order included Andreani's patrons Ippolito Agostini and Fabio Buonsignori. Caballo is also the author of Consilia decisiva in civilibus causis iudicibus diversorum Italiae tribunalium (Venice, 1607-1615) and of a collection of Resolutionum criminalium (Florence, 1606).

An etching of this same design, bearing many more inscriptions on the sides but not the dedication to Caballo, published in Siena by Matteo Florimi, could be the source on which this print was based or a copy of it (see Wellcome Library, no. 33803i).

"This imposing chiaroscuro woodcut, depicting a fancifully macabre burial monument, is both an arresting allegorical image and an interactive 'machine' for the contemplation of mankind's fleeting existence […] Allegory of Death was designed by the Sienese goldsmith Giovanni Fortuna (1534-1611?), a fellow member of the Compagnia di Santa Caterina. Aside from the inscriptions, the varied visual quotations in his design suggest Fortuna, who would soon be admitted into the city's nobility, was a man of a certain education. The motif of the hourglass with skeleton […] is copied from the Escutcheon of Death in Holbein's Dance of Death, of which an Italian edition appeared in Venice in 1545. The macabre caryatids on the sides are slightly modified copies of two woodcuts in Andreas Vesalius's 1543 De humani corporis fabrica, one of which openly references the memento mori genre. Further, the inscriptions on the obelisks may reflect the contemporary interest in hieroglyphs in Siena, particularly in the circle of Ippolito Agostini, who was overseeing the translation of Pierio Valeriano's Hieroglyphica, and paid close attention to the discovery of the Lateranense obelisk in 1587 […] While Fortuna's design is more intricate and detailed than usual for a chiaroscuro woodcut, Andreani skillfully adapted hi multiple block technique to delineate painstakingly the highlights , cast shadows, and carvings of this sculptural composition […] Andreani's remarkable print exerted an influence far beyond Siena, being copied in France by Edme Moreau (1617-1660), in Germany by Johann Elias Ridinger (1698-1767), and even serving as the model for a tapestry entitled Speculum humanae vitae, now in La Coruña, Spain" (N. Takahatake, The chiaroscuro woodcut in Renaissance Italy, Los Angeles-Munich, 2018, pp. 237-239).

"The Wheel of Death, in which worldly hierarchy and social structures are shown to become invalid upon death, was first seen in a chiaroscuro woodcut of 1588 by Mantua born printmaker Andrea Andreani (1558-1629) based on a lost drawing by the Siennese draughtsman Giovanni Fortuna (1535-1611)" (A. Koutny-Jones, Visual Cultures of Death in Central Europe, Leiden-Boston, 2015, pp. 77-78).

Andreani was born in Mantua around 1558/'59. Nothing is known of his training, studies, and early activity. Before the year 1584 we find him in Rome, where he published an undated 8-sheet copy of Titian's famous 'Triumph of Faith'. In 1584 Andreani is in Florence, where he publishes 'A Roman Abducting a Sabine' and 'Pilate Washing His Hands', both taken from Giambologna, while in 1586 his presence is attested in Siena. Here, as in Rome, he mostly copied in counterpart Titian's prints, by far his favorite artist. In Siena, where he lived for many years, Andreani felt at home, had many friendships and was happy to be called "pittor Sanese" and to sign himself as "Intagliatore in Siena". In 1588 he published the 'Allegory of Death' by Giovanni Fortuna Fortunius, a goldsmith and draughtsman from Siena, and a profile portrait of fifty-six-year-old Dürer. But Andreani's major effort in Siena was the reproduction of the marble inlays of the cathedral floor, a work that first appeared in 1590 with a dedication to Cardinal Scipione Gonzaga. In 1591 Andreani carved as many as five works by the Sienese painter Alessandro Casolani. Eager to return to his hometown, in 1598, while still residing in Siena, Andreani began carving the 'Triumph of Julius Caesar' that Andrea Mantegna had painted at the time of Francesco Gonzaga. His return to Mantua did not take place, however, until 1602, and his presence there is attested until 1610 (cf. A. Petrucci, Andreani, Andrea, in: "Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani", vol. 3, 1961, s.v.).

Chiaroscuro woodcuts were first introduced in Italy around 1516 by Ugo da Carpi, the progenitor of the technique, which involves printing an image from two or more woodblocks inked in different hues and creates the illusion of depth through tonal contrasts. Over the course of the century, the chiaroscuro woodcut underwent several technical advancements through the work of such artists as Antonio da Trento, Niccolò Vicentino, Nicolò Boldrini, and Andrea Andreani. In an over three-decade career, Andrea Andreani produced about 35 chiaroscuro woodcuts. He mostly took up the designs of various artists in the various centers of his activity, namely Florence, Siena, and his native Mantua. He acted as his own publisher and his production appears aimed principally at high-end collectors. Andreani brought the chiaroscuro technique to an unprecedented level, achieving a grand pictorial scale that rivals the impact of painting.

A. Bartsch, Le peintre graveur, Vienna, 1811, XII, pp. 135-136, no. 13; G.K. Nagler, Die Monogrammisten, Munich-Leipzig, ca. 1858, I, p. 112; Wellcome Collection, 33798i (1st state); Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, Rogers Fund, 1922, accession no. 22.73.3-79 (2nd state); British Museum, no. 1856,0712.1085 (1st state) and 1895,0122.1245 (2nd state); N. Takahatake, op. cit., cat. 103; P. Graf-H. Mildenberger, Chiaroscuro: Italienische Farbholzschnitte der Renaissance und des Barock, Exhibition catalogue, Casa di Goethe, Rome, April-July 2001 and Haus der Kunst, Munich, October 2002-Janaury 2003, Berlin, 2001, pp. 120-121, no. 39; G. Mori - C. Salsi, eds., Rappresentazioni del destino: immagini della vita e della morte dal XV al XIX secolo nelle stampe della raccolta Bertarelli, Milan, 2001, pp. 72-73, no. 8; M. Leśniakowska, Tarłów - Sarmata ars moriendi, in: "Biuletyn Historii Sztuki", 46, 1984, no. 2/3, pp. 170-172; E. Kolloff, Andrea Andreani, in: "Meyer's Allgemeines Künstler-Lexikon", Leipzig, 1872, II, p. 721, no. 27; M.E. Boscarelli, Contributi per Andrea Andreani, in: "Raccolta delle stampe A. Bertarelli, Raccolte di arte applicata, Museo degli strumenti musicali: rassegna di studi e di notizie", vol. 12, a. 11-12, 1984-85, pp. 66-73.

$ 9,500.-