Sacrifice of Noah

Stefano Mulinari (1741-c. 1795) was a major Italian printmaker, based in Florence, who produced over 200 etchings in his lifetime. He brought a new refinement to his media, using engraving, etching and aquatint, and sepia inks. These were often combined, as here, within the same print, to convey a remarkably convincing sense of a wash drawing. This <em>Sacrifice of Noah,</em> is after Camillo Procaccini (1551-1629), a prolific Mannerist artist from Lombardy active 200 years before Mulinari. The present location of Procaccini's drawing is unknown, but as noted below, it was clearly accessible to Mulinari at the time. The <em>Sacrifice of Noah</em> is in a volume of prints which reproduce drawings by a number of Old Masters (including Raphael, Leonardo, Parmigianino and Guercino) in the collection of the Real Galleria di Firenze. Prepared by Mulinari and published in 1774, the volume is entitled <em>Disegni originali d'eccellenti pittori esistenti nella Real Galleria di Firenze incisi ed intagliati nella loro grandezza e colori</em> (folio N.XXXI). Besides Procaccini, there are reproductions of Raphael, Lenoardo, Parmigianino and Guercino. The 18th-century's fascination with collecting and studying works by master artists such these prompted the reproduction and publication of many drawings for an audience of amateur connoisseurs. Mulinari's portfolio is an excellent example of just such a publication (Information: James Wehn, Cleveland Art Museum). Te Papa's impression is mounted in the so-called King George IV album of Old Master prints, acquired by the Dominion Museum in 1910.

Sources:

Getty Research Institute, https://archive.org/details/gri_33125011208614 (p.131)

Lombardia Beni Culturali, http://www.lombardiabeniculturali.it/stampe/schede/C0160-00228/  

Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art April 2017