Antonio da Trento
(b Trent; fl Bologna, c. 1527). Italian printmaker. Of six
documented chiaroscuro woodcuts by the artist (two signed, four
mentioned by Vasari), five are skilfully cut in a very controlled
two-block style, for example Nude Man in a Landscape (B. p. 148, no.
13). The sixth, the Martyrdom of Two Saints (B. p. 79, no. 28; for
illustration see WOODCUT, CHIAROSCURO), is among the best of Italian
multiple-block chiaroscuros. All are after designs by Parmigianino.
According to Vasari, Parmigianino, arriving in Bologna after the
Sack of Rome in 1527, stayed with a friend for several months and
retained Antonio to instruct him in the cutting of two- and
three-block prints. Although Vasari stated elsewhere that
Parmigianino prepared many other designs to be incised in copper and
printed, he implied that Antonio was employed for this purpose. The
project foundered because of Parmigianino’s painting obligations,
whereupon Antonio stole all the prints (or possibly matrixes—Vasari
is not clear) in copper and wood and as many drawings as possible
and disappeared. Since the 18th century attempts have been made to
rediscover him in the person of the etcher and painter Antonio
Fantuzzi, active at Fontainebleau between 1537 and 1550. Four
etchings (out of over 100) by Fantuzzi copy Parmigianino drawings
and correspond to chiaroscuro designs. This overlap, the hiatus in
Antonio da Trento’s career, the mention of copperplates by Vasari
and the likelihood that such highly prized designs would find a
further use enhance the theory, which, however, lacks firm
substantiation. All of Antonio’s chiaroscuros were recut for later
editions, though not those issued by Andreani.
