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Bononia Docet: Marcantonio Raimondi, Humanism, And Artisanal Culture In Renaissance Bologna, Giancarlo Fiorenza

Art and Design

A new interpretation of an enigmatic engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi from his early career in Bologna sheds light on the artist’s cultural connections during his formative years. With its assimilation of alchemical, poetic, and hieroglyphic imagery, Raimondi’s engraving points to a nexus of activities in Bologna that clustered around intellectual circles and artists’ workshops. In particular, the artist appears to have engaged directly with the famed Bolognese physician Alessandro Achillini in order to develop his novel composition, a relationship which has previously gone unnoticed. Raimondi’s initial vocation as a goldsmith, together with his training under Francesco Francia, about which we …