Antonio Tempesta, The Donkey, Etching, 1610s

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The Donkey is a wonderful black and white etching on thick laid paper, realized by the Italian master Antonio Tempesta … Read more The Donkey is a wonderful black and white etching on thick laid paper, realized by the Italian master Antonio Tempesta (1555-1630). Not signed. In excellent conditions. Including a cream-colored cardboard passepartout, 34 x 50 cm. An exciting original print, with all the dignity of a mythological or epic story, represented with an incredible balance of black and white, light and shadow, and a typical Baroque dynamism. Antonio Tempesta, also known as Il Tempestino (Florence, 1555 - Rome, 1630), was an Italian painter and engraver of the early Baroque period. Antonio Tempesta trained in the culture of late Mannerism, with a naturalistic but also calligraphic taste, acquired from the frequentation of Giovanni Stradano, with whom he collaborated in the decoration of Palazzo Vecchio. Moving to Rome in 1573, he worked for Pope Gregory XIII, frescoing some maps of Rome in the Vatican, including the famous Map of Rome (1593). In the pontifical capital, he worked for many noble families and for important cardinals, such as Alessandro Farnese and Scipione Borghese. His works are in San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, at the villa in Caprarola, in Tivoli. He returned to Florence for a brief stay, where he collaborated with Alessandro Allori, Ludovico Buti, Giovan Maria Butteri and Ludovico Cigoli on the decoration of the ceilings of the Uffizi Gallery on the east side, executed with grotesque drawings. When he returned to Rome, he devoted himself more and more to engraving, with which he gained wide recognition throughout Europe. He was also a talented draftsman, endowed with a particularly scenographic vein, and other artists printed and spread his work. This piece is attributed to the mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark and no
official proof of authenticity,
however it is well documented in design history. I take full responsibility for any authenticity



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