Art Institute of Chicago

The Calumny of Apelles

Girolamo Mocetto (Italian, c. 1470-after 1531)

Date

1500/1506

Medium

Engraving in black on ivory laid paper

Culture

Italy

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Although he probably never met Andrea Mantegna, the Venetian painter-engraver Girolamo Mocetto nevertheless based this print on a drawing (now in the British Museum, London) by the older artist. Later, Rembrandt also copied the same drawing, and may have owned it for a time. Mocetto altered the composition by placing the scene, an allegory of calumny (or false accusation), in the Campo de Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice, with Andrea del Verrocchio’s famous equestrian monument to Bartolomeo Colleoni in the background. This print is a unique early state before final shading was added to the basilica dome.

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