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Descent from the Cross

Raphael, Ugo da Carpi

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

Ugo da Carpi was influential in the development of the chiaroscuro woodcut in Italy. The term chiaroscuro combines the Italian words <em>chiaro </em>(light) and <em>scuro </em>(dark). Invented to emulate drawings with light and dark pigments on tinted paper, the printing technique uses multiple woodblocks to layer different tones of color.

The<em> Descent from the Cross</em> is one of the earliest chiaroscuro woodcuts by Ugo da Carpi. This print credits Raphael with its design: it was inspired by one of Raphael's now-lost drawings for a scene of <em>Deposition </em>that he should have painted in Loggie Vaticane. In a sketch-like hilly landscape, Christ's dead body is taken down from the cross by four men, one of whom is removing the nail from his right palm. Below, the three Marys attend the fainted Virgin. For this woodcut, Ugo used three different blocks—light brown, dark brown, and black.

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Learn more about this artwork.
  • Title: Descent from the Cross
  • Creator: Ugo da Carpi (Italian, c. 1479–c. 1532), Raphael (Italian, 1483-1520)
  • Type: Print
  • Rights: CC0
  • External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1925.984
  • Medium: chiaroscuro woodcut
  • Inscriptions: Lower margin, in light tone block: °RAPHAEL°VRBINAS+ Lower right, on the small board, in light tone block: VGO DA CARPI
  • Fun Fact: This three-block chiaroscuro woodcut is known in two states. These differ for a small detail: the inscription with Raphael's name in the lower margin of the frame, and Ugo's name inscribed in the light tone block inside the small board at lower right, as seen in the CMA example.
  • Department: Prints
  • Culture: Italy, 16th century
  • Credit Line: Gift of the President and Directors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
  • Collection: PR - Chiaroscuro
  • Accession Number: 1925.984
The Cleveland Museum of Art

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