The Story
Bartolommeo Coriolano (1590 or 1599–1676, pronunciation ko-ree-o-lă'no and sometimes spelled Coriolanus) was an Italian printmaker during the Baroque period, mainly in colour woodcuts. His father, Cristoforo Coriolano, and brother, Giovanni Battista Coriolano were also woodcut printmakers, although there is some doubt over the actual relationship between Cristoforo and Bartolommeo Coriolano. Coriolano had a daughter, Teresa Maria Coriolano, who later became a painter and engraver.
Coriolano trained under the painter Guido Reni and based many of his woodcuts on the work of his teacher as reproductive prints, as was common. He was successful and popular, though not an innovator in the technique. Eventually, he came to the attention of Pope Urban VII who granted Coriolano knighthood, as a "Roman count", and a pension. Coriolano's works are the most celebrated of the works produced by the Coriolano family.
Executed in chiaroscuro woodcut, measuring Unknown, the surface rewards close looking. Bartolommeo Coriolano builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
