Portret van kardinaal Hyacinthe Sigismond Gerdil

About this artwork

Prent uit een reeks van onbekende omvang met portretten van kardinalen. De prenten werden vanaf 1657 vervaardigd in opdracht van uitgever Giovanni Giacomo de’ Rossi, waarna de productie werd voortgezet onder leiding van zijn opvolgers Domenico de’ Rossi en Lorenzo Filippo de’ Rossi, en tenslotte onder leiding van de Calcographia R.C.A.

Art Historical Context

This etching by Antonio Capellan portrays Cardinal Hyacinthe Sigismond Gerdil, a prominent 18th-century church figure. Created between 1777 and 1788, the print measures 230 by 168 millimeters and belongs to an extensive series of cardinal portraits initiated in 1657 by the Roman publisher Giovanni Giacomo de’ Rossi. The project continued for over a century under successive generations of the de’ Rossi family before passing to the Calcographia R.C.A., reflecting the sustained demand for visual records of ecclesiastical leaders. Etching was ideally suited to such documentary series, allowing artists to capture fine details of clerical attire and facial expression while enabling wide distribution through affordable prints. Capellan’s contribution belongs to the later phase of this ambitious undertaking, when the images served both as historical documentation and as tools for maintaining the visual presence of the Church hierarchy across Europe. Today the work offers visitors a glimpse into the intersection of art, publishing, and religious authority in Baroque and Enlightenment Rome. Its crisp lines and formal composition exemplify how printmaking helped shape public perceptions of power and piety during a transformative period in European history.

About the Artist

Antonio Capellan · 1735–1795

Antonio Capellan (ca. 1740–1793) was an Italian engraver active in Venice and Rome during the Neoclassical period, specializing in reproductive prints that disseminated images of Italian Renaissance masterworks. Born around 1740 in Venice, Capellan trained with Joseph Wagner, a prominent printmaker who influenced a generation of Venetian engravers. This apprenticeship established Capellan's techni...