Line Engraving

The last quarter of the 15th century in Germany is a period prolific in engravers. Schongauer's immediate scholars and imi tators, whose names or initials it is not necessary to enumerate here, are numerous. The course of engraving in the Netherlands after the middle of the 15th century runs more or less parallel with that in Germany, though there are no artists of equal impor tance with E.S. and Schongauer.

Albrecht Diirer of Nuremberg (1471-1528) who, though not actually Schongauer's pupil as an engraver, is his virtual succes sor, carries on the Gothic tradition and later develops it, in con tact with the Italian renaissance and by the power of his own fantastic and thoughtful temperament, into that grand and most significant expression of the Teutonic genius which we recog nize in such engravings as the "Knight, Death and the Devil," the "Melancolia" and the "St. Jerome." Diirer was more than an engraver, but it was in this medium, perhaps, that his genius found the most perfect expression; he must be considered in view of this absolute fitness of means to expression as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of the world's engravers.

Lucas van Leyden in Holland, was in his own time placed on a level with Diirer, but posterity will hardly endorse this contemporary view, though his earlier engravings, beginning with the "Mahomet and the Monk Sergius" dated 1508 in his 15th year, have a naïve directness and lucidity of expression which are admirable. His engraving further marks an increase in the delicacy of tone values, which even Direr had not attained. His later work shows a surrender, first to the influence of his great German contemporary, then to that of Raphael's works as inter preted by Marcantonio Raimondi.

Italy.

Vasari's statement that the art of engraving was in vented by Maso Finiguerra about the year 146o has long been disproved. Not only, as we have seen, was engraving known and practised north of the Alps some decades earlier, but even in Italy itself examples dating from at least ten years before Finiguerra's alleged discovery, can be found. These earliest Italian engravings, which emanate most probably from the workshops of Florentine goldsmiths, are in marked contrast to contemporary German pro ductions, showing a much lower level of technical skill both in the actual engraving and in the printing. A first small group of Flor

entine engravings dating from about 1450 was succeeded by another group which may with very great probability be associ ated with the name of Maso Finiguerra (1426-1464). There is every reason to credit the tradition that he was an engraver, and the style of this second group is closely related to that of works in intarsia authenticated as his, and to that of a large group of works in niello (q.v.), an art of which he was reputed to be the greatest master. Closely connected with, and probably executed in Finiguerra's workshop after the master's death, are a number of other engravings, such as the series of the "Prophets and Sibyls." These, with the engravings actually attributed to Finiguerra, are usually grouped together as Florentine engravings in the Fine Manner as opposed to a more important group distinguished as in the Broad Manner. These, which are mostly later in date than the fine manner prints, some being copies from the latter, aim at reproducing the effect of pen drawings and derive their inspiration in part from Botticelli. Baccio Baldini who, Vasari states, engraved Botticelli's designs, may be the engraver of some of them.

The first great Florentine painter actually to use the graver himself was Antonio Pollaiuolo; his only engraving, the "Battle of the Nudes," is stylistically to be included in the group of prints in the broad manner. In Andrea Mantegna (1431 1506), Italy produces her first really great engraver, great rather as an artist than as a craftsman. The "Virgin and Child," prob ably one of his earlier works, the great Entombment and the frieze of the "Battle of the Sea Gods" are as noble expressions of the great painter's genius as any of his pictures. A whole group of engravers was inspired by Mantegna and worked after his designs. Their work owes most of its worth to Mantegna, though they are competent workmen in the same manner. No greater contrast could be found with Mantegna's style than that of Jacopo de' Barbari (d. after 1512), a Venetian, who assimilated the northern technique of engraving and used it to express a rather charming vein of his own.