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| Andrea Andreani after Pordenone Saturn with Balances 1604 chiaroscuro woodcut British Museum |
Andrea Andreani (ca. 1540-1623) of Mantua is remembered as the pioneer of colored woodcuts in 16th-century Italy. He carved multiple blocks for a single image and then inked each block with a different color. The death's head immediately below is exceptional because Andreani composed it himself, while most of his prints were based on pre-existing paintings or sculptures made by other Renaissance artists.
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| Andrea Andreani Memento Mori ca. 1586-1610 chiaroscuro woodcut British Museum |
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| Andrea Andreani after Alessandro Cassolani Memento Mori 1591 chiaroscuro woodcut British Museum |
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| Andrea Andreani after Niccolò Bodrini St Sebastian (one of six panels, each with a different saint) 1590s chiaroscuro woodcut Philadelphia Museum of Art |
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| Andrea Andreani after Niccolò Bodrini Six Saints (assembled from separately printed panels) 1590s chiarsoscuro woodcut Philadelphia Museum of Art |
Above, a group of saints printed on separate sheets and subsequently joined together.
Below, three different woodcuts with views from three different perspectives of Giambologna's famous marble sculpture group depicting a woman abducted by soldiers, publicly displayed in Florence since its completion in 1582.
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| Andrea Andreani after Giambologna Rape of the Sabine Women 1584 chiaroscuro woodcut British Museum |
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| Andreani Andrea after Giambologna Rape of the Sabine Women 1585 chiaroscuro woodcut British Museum |
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| Andrea Andreani after Giambologna Rape of the Sabine Women 1584 chiaroscuro woodcut Ashmolean Museum, Oxford |
Andreani copied Andrea Mantegna's tapestry cartoons for the Triumph of Julius Caesar. These were displayed in Andreani's native Mantua until 1628 when they were sold to Charles I of England. Andreani also printed a sheet of ornamented Corinthian pilasters, to be snipped out and pasted as linkages between the woodcut triumph-scenes (as below).
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| Andrea Andreani after Andrea Mantegna Triumph if Julius Caesar (two panels connected by separately printed pilasters) 1599 chiaroscuro woodcut National Gallery of Art (U.S.) |
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| Andrea Andreani after Andrea Mantegna Six Corinthian Pilasters (for use as connectors between Triumphs) 1599 chiaroscuro woodcut British Museum |
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| Andrea Andreani after Domenico Beccafumi Sacrifice of Isaac (assembled from panels) late 16th century chiaroscuro woodcut Rijksmuseum |
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| Andrea Andreani after Raffaellino da Reggio Entombment 1585 chiaroscuro woodcut British Museum |
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| Andrea Andreani after Raffaellino da Reggio Entombment 1585 chiaroscuro woodcut Ashmolean Museum , Oxford |
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| Andrea Andreani after Jacopo Ligozzi Virtue surrounded by Error, Ignorance, and Opinion 1585 chiaroscuro woodcut Ashmolean Museum, Oxford |