PIETRO SANTI BARTOLI
TROPHIES OF ANCIENT ARMS AND ARMOR
From a drawing by GIULIO ROMANO
(1499–1546)
Engraved by PIETRO SANTI BARTOLI
Perugia 1635 – Rome 1700
Etching on laid paper, signed "Iulius Romanus Inuent. Petrus Sanctus Bartolus Sculp.”
12.2 × 35.5 cm
PROVENANCE
Private collection, Vienna
This extraordinary etching presents an elaborate composition of ancient armor, shields, and military trophies, enlivened by muscular and expressive figures in theatrical poses. Taken from a drawing by Giulio Romano, one of Raphael's main heirs and a central figure of Mannerism, the scene condenses the energy of combat into a decorative and allegorical composition.
The engraving is the work of Pietro Santi Bartoli, one of the most prolific and erudite Italian engravers of the 17th century. Initially trained as a painter under Nicolas Poussin, Bartoli dedicated his life to documenting ancient Roman art through the medium of print. Working in close collaboration with antiquarian scholars such as Giovanni Pietro Bellori, he created series of engravings taken from frescoes, reliefs, sarcophagi, and Roman inscriptions.
His prints not only preserved valuable testimonies of monuments now lost or damaged, but also played a fundamental role in the visual education of artists, collectors, and architects throughout Europe.
In this work, Bartoli's refined linear technique and his sensitivity to classical details elevate the composition from a simple reproduction to an autonomous graphic work. The precision of the armor decorations, the treatment of surfaces, and the spatial rhythm of the scene testify to his extraordinary mastery of engraving.
The inscription in the lower margin attributes the invention of the composition to Iulius Romanus (Giulio Romano) and the engraving to Petrus Sanctus Bartolus (Pietro Santi Bartoli), according to the Baroque custom of Latinizing artists' signatures. Collaborations such as this, between Renaissance drawings and Baroque engravings, illustrate the continuity of classical ideals in European visual culture.