RAIMONDI, Marcantonio
(b. ca. 1480, Bologna, d. ca. 1534, Bologna)

Biography

Italian engraver, pioneer in the use of prints to reproduce the work of other artists. He studied with Francia and learned much from Dürer's engravings in Venice (Dürer is said to have complained to the Venetian senate about being plagiarizes). In about 1510 he settled in Rome and thereafter worked mainly for Raphael, his engravings helping to spread the master's style throughout Europe. Apart from his association with Raphael, Raimondi is best known for his series of erotic engravings (after designs by Giulio Romano), that led to his imprisonment in 1524. He left Rome after the Sack of 1527 and died in obscurity in Bologna.