RAIMONDI, MARCANTONIO The chief Italian line engraver of the Renaissance. The year of his birth is unknown, but he was a native of Bologna, where he studied engraving under Francia, devoting himself at first to niello. At the beginning of the fifteenth century we find him executing line engravings after the paintings of Francia, but also after his own designs.
Even these early prints the influence of the German engravers. like Sehongauer, is evident, particularly in the landscape backgrounds. Greatly impressed by Diirer's engravings, he copied about eighty of his woodcuts and copper plates in lisle engraving, even counterfeiting Diirer's signature. He thus pirated without ac knowledgment the entire Life of the Virgin and the Little Passion. The generally accepted ac count, derived from \'a-ari, of how Diirer ob tained redress from the Venetian Government is improbable, since the first series was not pub lished until after Diirer's visit to Venice in 1506.
Until 1510 Raimondi resided at Bologna, with occasional visits to Venice, but in that year he seems to have been at Florence, since it was the date of his celebrated engraving, "Les grim peurs," after Michelangelo's cartoon. the "Battle of Anghiari." the background of which was taken from Lucas van Leyden. Ile was then probably
on the road to Rome. where he henceforth de voted himself to the reproduction of the works of Raphael. The latter even sketched deigns for him, and himself added the finishing touches to the plates. Mareantonio carried out these de signs with great vigor and charm. tendering. as no other has done, the forms of Raphael. not only in line, but in spirit. Among the best of his works executed after Raphael were: the "Thirder of the Innocents:" "Quos Ego" (Neptune riding on a shell) : "Lucretia the "Judgment of Paris:" "Adam and etc. _kite'. Raphael's death he engraved after Giulio Romano, notably a "Baechus and and after the antique, which he was largely instrumental in populariz ing. His engraving of Giulio': illustrations of Aretino's tti InAsnrinsi caused his im prisonment by Clement VI L. and he was ruined by the sack of Rome in 1327. when he was held for ransom by the Spaniards at an exorbitant sum. lie returned to Bologna, where he died not late• than 1:534. The chief pupils of, his school at Rome were Agostino Veneziano and Marco Dente of Ravenna. Consult Delaborde, Marc Antoine Rainiondi (Paris, 1887).