Minneapolis Institute of Art

The Adoration of the Magi

Carlo Andrea Sacchi; After Paolo Veronese

Date

1649

Medium

Etching

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Carlo Sacchi was a prolific painter, working mostly in Pavia, a town just south of Milan. He also tried his hand at printmaking. This image, based on a painting by the great Venetian artist Paolo Veronese, may be his first effort as an etcher. Veronese completed his painting in 1573 as a commission for the Venetian parish church of San Silvestro. The painting was still there when Sacchi studied it, but in the 19th century, the church sold the painting to a dealer who in turn sold it to the National Gallery, London, where it remains today. The Adoration of the Magi is skillfully drawn, but the copper plate was lightly bitten, producing a low-contrast image. Sacchi amplified the delicacy of the image by using a burnishing tool to create the heavenly ray of light beaming down on the scene. The print is dedicated to Giovanni Donato Correggio, a Venetian merchant and significant art patron. Italy, Europe

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