Art Institute of Chicago

Mucius Scevola

Andrea Andreani (Italian, c. 1558-1629)

Date

1608

Medium

Chiaroscuro woodcut in greenish gray and black on cream laid paper

Culture

Italy

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The printmaker and publisher Andrea Andreani made several prints calling for over 40 blocks, including a lengthy classical frieze. He also acquired older blocks and republished them with his own initials. The present woodcut required two blocks—an abstract tone block and a linear key block in black printed on top of it to consolidate the image. This popular subject after Baldassare Peruzzi shows a legendary Roman hero, Mucius Scevela, who, upon being caught during an attempt to assassinate the Etruscan king Lars Porsenna, thrust his hand into a fire to demonstrate his bravery and resistance to torture.

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