Martelaarschap van de tienduizend (vijfde deel)

About this artwork

Maakt deel uit van acht tegendrukken van prenten die samen een voorstelling vormen van het martelaarschap van de tienduizend.

Art Historical Context

This striking counterproof by Domenico Campagnola captures the fifth section of a monumental depiction of the Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand, a legendary tale of early Christian soldiers persecuted on Mount Ararat. Created around 1515–1520, the work measures over half a meter in height and forms part of a rare series of eight counterproofs. These were produced by pressing damp sheets against existing prints, resulting in reversed images that allowed artists to study compositions or create duplicates with subtle tonal variations. Campagnola, a Venetian Renaissance printmaker and painter closely associated with Titian, employed this technique to explore dynamic crowd scenes and dramatic narratives. The full series reconstructs a vast, multi-figure composition filled with the intense movement and suffering typical of this popular religious subject in early sixteenth-century Italy. As both a technical experiment and devotional image, the counterproof highlights the innovative print culture of the Venetian Renaissance, where artists adapted woodcuts and engravings to reach wider audiences while preserving intricate details of dramatic storytelling.

About the Artist

Domenico Campagnola · 1500–1564

Domenico Campagnola (c. 1500–1564), a Venetian Renaissance painter, engraver, and pioneering draftsman, was born around 1500, likely in Venice to German parents, and became a child prodigy under the tutelage of his adoptive father, Giulio Campagnola. Apprenticed to Giulio around 1507 in Venice, he mastered painting, drawing, engraving, and woodcutting from the esteemed Paduan engraver, whose stipp...