Annibale Carracci (1560-1609) - Pietà

To Annibale Carracci (1560–1609) – La Pietà di Caprarola – Etching on handmade laid paper with watermark ‘I DVALAUD’ – ca. 1680–1710
Specifications
Artist / Attribution: To Annibale Carracci (Bologna 1560 – Rome 1609)
Title of the work: La Pietà di Caprarola (The Lamentation of Christ at the Foot of the Cross)
Technique: Etching and engraving on handmade laid paper with chain lines
Date: In the copper plate dated 1597; actual early impression ca. 1680–1710
Inscription: In the plate lower left engraved: Annibal Caracci fe Caprarola 1597.
Literature / Reference: Adam von Bartsch, Le Peintre Graveur, Part XVIII, p. 182, no. 4 (Copie 1, dans le même sens)
Watermark: Centrally along the upper edge clearly readable in transmitted light: I DVALAUD (Jean Duvalaud, renowned paper maker in Angoulême / Angoumois, ca. 1680–1720)
Dimensions:
Sheet size (paper): ca. 16.0 × 22.5 cm
Plate size (copper plate): ca. 12.3 × 16.0 cm
Image size (boundaries): ca. 12.0 × 15.5 cm
Description
A seventeenth-century copper engraving/etching after the masterful composition La Pietà di Caprarola, which Annibale Carracci designed and etched in 1597 during his stay at the Farnese Palace in Caprarola.
The scene shows the lifeless body of Christ lying on the shroud on Mary’s lap, who faints with grief (lo spasimo) and is supported by one of the holy women. To the left kneels Mary Magdalene with folded hands in deep mourning, with beside her John the Evangelist holding Christ’s right hand. In the background rises the foot of the Cross at Golgotha.
This concerns the early contemporary copy in the same direction, exactly as documented by Adam von Bartsch (Copie 1), distinguished by the Italian inscription fe Caprarola instead of the Latin wording of the original design. The dating of this impression toward the end of the 17th century is evidenced by the watermark of Jean Duvalaud from the renowned French paper region Angoulême.
Condition report
Paper condition: Good and sound condition on sturdy handmade laid paper.
Margins: exceptionally well preserved with ample, authentic margins surrounding the complete and sharp plate area (untrimmed sheet).
Impression: Strong, early impression with excellent preservation of the fine cross-hatching and facial expressions.
Particulars: Light, age-appropriate foxing in the outer margins of the paper. On the reverse (verso) there are old mounting strips/paper tape along the upper edge and corners from a former framing. The image field itself is clean and pristine.