Minneapolis Institute of Art

Frontispiece to a series of prints dedicated to Filippo d'Angelo Michele Guastavillani

Lorenzo Loli; after Giovanni Andrea Sirani

Date

1640

Medium

Etching

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

This is the frontispiece for a series of playful images of putti etched by Lorenzo Loli after drawings by Giovanni Andrea Sirani. Sirani's surviving drawing for this etching reveals that he worked drew lines with a pen, then added extensive tonal washes and white highlighting, all of which Loli translated into the linear pattern seen in the etching. Cupid points to a dedication to Filipo, a young member of the prominent Bolonese family of Guastavillani, also known as Filippo d'Angelo Michele Guastavillani. One wonders if the subjects of the series, putti or young angels, is a play on Filippo's middle name, Angelo. Additionally, the Guastavillani arms include a series of concentric circles that resemble a target, which may also have inspired the appearance of cupid in the prints. Perhaps the series as a whole could be read as a series of allusions to or lessons for Filippo. Italy, Europe

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