Enea Vico (Parma 1523 - Ferrara 1567)

Enea Vico (Parma 1523 - Ferrara 1567) Punishment of the courtesan who derided Virgil, 1542 Burin Measurements: mm 178 x 280 Antiquarian, designer, numismatist and engraver, after an initial training in his hometown, the artist moved to Rome. Here he worked for the printer Salamanca and for Tommaso Barlacchi, engraving many plates including a series of Grotesques published in 1542; he trained mainly by studying the engravings of Marcantonio Raimondi and his school (the copy in counterproof of Raimondi's Lucrezia, engraved for Barlacchi, dates from 1541). After a stay in Florence he moved to Venice and finally to Ferrara at the court of Alfonso II. Today we know about five hundred burin engravings executed by Vico: portraits, series of ancient vases, gems and cameos, engravings from works by Raphael, Michelangelo, Salviati, etc. The subject described in this engraving derives from an invention by Perino del Vaga (Florence 1501 - Rome 1547) and is inspired by a legend linked to Virgil who sees him in love with a young girl, daughter of a Roman emperor. However, the woman not only does not reciprocate the love but makes fun of the Poet; she pretends to welcome him into her rooms by using a basket to get him secretly to the window, but then the basket stops and Virgil remains hanging until the next day, to the laughter of the people. The poet takes revenge by extinguishing all the fire in Rome and only through the woman could the people procure it. Thus the emperor's daughter was placed in the public square and Virgil was avenged. In the print, in front of obelisks, columns and Roman buildings, we can observe a foreground crowded with people caught in different poses and attitudes, the tumult and excitement are created by strong gestures, a clear stroke and a silver glaze. On the right the woman is subjugated by the people and in the background Virgil is hanging from the basket. Monogram EV in the lower left in the tablet, while beyond the image in the white margin the couplet and the date VIRGILIVM ELVDENS MERITAS DAT FOEMINA POENAS ROMAE ANNO 1542. Excellent impression, splendid effect of silvery gray glaze background. Excellent state of preservation except for an integrated lack along the right margin, some thinning of the paper. Trimmed to the copperplate mark. Watermark: anchor in the circle (Central Italy, mid-16th century). Specimen III/III with Salamanca's address, at the bottom in the center. Bibliography: Bartsch XV.304.46; Gori Gandinelli V, pp. 49-50; TIB 30.65.46; Borea 1980, pp. 271-72