Portret van Marcantonio Raimondi 1641 - 1741

Jean Baron made this print of Marcantonio Raimondi, sometime in the 17th century. Raimondi was a hugely important figure in the history of printmaking, popularizing the medium in Renaissance Italy. The print presents Raimondi as a gentleman and an artist. The inscription states that he was a Bolognese engraver and a student of Raphael, associating him with the prestige of Italian art. The image thus reinforces a hierarchy of artistic value. Baron, who was French, may have been interested in Italian art and artists because of the central role that Italian art played in the formation of French art academies. Prints like this one helped to construct a narrative of artistic greatness that could then be emulated in other national contexts. To fully understand the image's social purpose, we might investigate the institutional histories of printmaking, the economics of the print market, and the history of academies. These resources help us to see how art creates and reflects its cultural context.