Portret van Andrea Sansovino 1641 - 1741

Jean Baron created this portrait of Andrea Sansovino using etching during the 17th century. The image presents Sansovino, a sculptor and architect from the Italian High Renaissance, in profile. Consider the role of the etching in 17th-century Europe. The medium allowed for the relatively easy and inexpensive reproduction of images. Etchings like this one served to disseminate the likenesses of important figures such as Sansovino across geographical space. The institutional context of printmaking and distribution determined, to a large extent, the kind of art that was seen, and who was seeing it. The social conventions around portraiture are also important. Who got their portrait made, and how? What did it mean to memorialize a person in this way? To delve deeper, look into the printmaking industry of the period, and the biographies of both Baron and Sansovino. These sources can reveal the intricate social and institutional relationships that produced this image.