Marcantonio Raimondi

Italian printmaker, draftsman and engraver, Marcantonio Raimondi pioneered the reproduction of artwork in prints. Approximately three hundred of his prints were based on other artists’ designs. He worked especially closely with Raphael. Raimondi’s earliest engravings date from around 1500. In 1506 he went to Venice and became Albrecht Dürer’s most prolific copier, though not with consent and, as a result, Dürer brought legal proceedings against Raimondi.

By 1510, Raimondi was in Rome where he created a financially and artistically successful business founding a school of engravers who could accurately reproduce various artworks. By 1513 he was concentrating mostly on engraving Raphael’s works, while Raphael’s assistant was in charge of the printing and marketing. Raphael died in 1520 and Raimondi continued engraving works by artists in his circle.

Sometime around 1524, Raimondi was imprisoned for producing erotic engravings after Giulio’s designs. After this transgression, he was forced to ransom himself from the Spaniards during the Sack of Rome in 1527. Not much is known of his life after this date.