Elderly Shepherd Leaning on a Staff

1722. Chiaroscuro woodcut on cream laid paper, laid down to a cream laid paper matrix (as issued), printed from three blocks in dusky pink, olive green and grayish blue, with a gold border and pink watercolor frame. Printed area measures 6 11/16 x 4 5/8 inches (170 × 117 mm), watercolor frame measures 8 1/2 x 6 3/8 inches (215 x 160 mm), and the matrix measures 15 1/2 x 11 inches (393 x 278 mm), full margins. Inscribed "P. Inv. AMZ del et Sculp" in the block lower left, and dated "1722" in the block, lower right. An excellent example with rich color in very good condition and with no visible defects.

[Bartsch 22.]. Count Anton(io) Maria Zanetti the Elder visited London from his native Venice in 1721. During the course of that trip Zanetti purchased 130 drawings by Parmigianino from the collection of Thomas Howard, the late Earl of Arundel, and also had the opportunity to view some early chiaroscuro woodcuts which belonged to William Cavendish, then the second Duke of Devonshire. Zanetti was completely taken by the painterly nature of the chiaroscuro prints, and upon his return to Italy he set out to teach himself the technique of printing from multiple wooden blocks. Zanetti experimented widely with the appearance of color and the influence it had on his printed images, and he explored the emotional and visual evocations which different pigment combinations generated. Zanetti reimagined Parmigianino's masterful Mannerist compositions using this method, and the results were so well received that they initiated an 18th century revival of the romantic art form. This particular print is among those works after Parmigianino which launched this resurgence in chiaroscuro printmaking.