GIUSEPPE SCOLARI (ACTIVE 1550-1600)

This print is a fine example of Scolari's very distinct style of working on the woodblock with the burin to carve long, sweeping parallel lines of different density into the woodblock to create a rich and varied tonality, a technique more akin to wood engraving.
His Saint Jerome also attests to another aspect of Scolari's inventiveness: his radical reworking of the woodblock between the first and second states. He transformed the composition in several areas by cutting out large parts of the already chiselled block and inserting plugs into the gaps, which could then be newly carved. In this fashion, he altered the position of the Saint's leg and reworked the drapery in the present second state of the print. As a result, the figure of the Saint is more dynamic, seemingly stepping forward into space, whilst the drapery emphasises the shape of the body underneath.
His unusual cutting method and these changes to the block for compositional purposes strongly suggest that Scolari was not only the designer of this print, but that he also cut the block himself - a laborious process that was usually done by craftsmen rather than the artist.