Titian and Tintoretto in Prints: Art and Profit
The two Italian painters Titian and Tintoretto are world-famous, and unlike many masters, who only achieved posthumous recognition, these two Venetian artists were already known to a broad public during their lifetimes. Why this was so can be seen in an exhibition in the Graphisches Kabinett: some twenty prints demonstrate how woodcuts and copper engravings disseminated the ideas of the two artists well beyond the Venetian lagoon, and made their names well-known throughout Europe.
In the sixteenth century, Venice was the centre of the European printing trade, and from the outset of his career Titian knew how to exploit this location advantage offered by his home city. He had woodcuts made of his drawings and put them in the hands of experienced publishers. To reproduce his paintings, he engaged the services of the talented engraver Cornelis Cort. The latter鈥檚 invention of the swelling and tapering line allowed fine transitions between the light and dark parts of the engraving, and was particularly well suited to translating the rich coloration and dramatic lighting of Titian鈥檚 paintings into the print technique.
Unlike Titian, Tintoretto seems not to have taken any particular interest in the reproduction of his works. Even so, the engravings based on his paintings were among the most sought-after on the market. In their reconstruction of Tintoretto鈥檚 dynamic paint application and dramatic lighting, engravers such as Agostino Carracci took up the style of Cornelis Cort. For Carracci and Cort, reproducing the work of the Venetian masters was a high point in their careers. And the calculation that high-quality prints would both enhance the market value of the artists and lead to commercial success paid off.
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The two Italian painters Titian and Tintoretto are world-famous, and unlike many masters, who only achieved posthumous recognition, these two Venetian artists were already known to a broad public during their lifetimes. Why this was so can be seen in an exhibition in the Graphisches Kabinett: some twenty prints demonstrate how woodcuts and copper engravings disseminated the ideas of the two artists well beyond the Venetian lagoon, and made their names well-known throughout Europe.
In the sixteenth century, Venice was the centre of the European printing trade, and from the outset of his career Titian knew how to exploit this location advantage offered by his home city. He had woodcuts made of his drawings and put them in the hands of experienced publishers. To reproduce his paintings, he engaged the services of the talented engraver Cornelis Cort. The latter鈥檚 invention of the swelling and tapering line allowed fine transitions between the light and dark parts of the engraving, and was particularly well suited to translating the rich coloration and dramatic lighting of Titian鈥檚 paintings into the print technique.
Unlike Titian, Tintoretto seems not to have taken any particular interest in the reproduction of his works. Even so, the engravings based on his paintings were among the most sought-after on the market. In their reconstruction of Tintoretto鈥檚 dynamic paint application and dramatic lighting, engravers such as Agostino Carracci took up the style of Cornelis Cort. For Carracci and Cort, reproducing the work of the Venetian masters was a high point in their careers. And the calculation that high-quality prints would both enhance the market value of the artists and lead to commercial success paid off.
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