Ugo da Carpi

, chiaroscuro woodcut with 3 blocks Early life Ugo da Carpi’s exact birth date is unknown. Some scholars estimate it to be as early as 1450, although others claim it is closer to 1480. He was the 10th of the 13 children of Count Astolfo da Panico and Elisabetta da Dallo. The first historical evidence of Ugo is in the last will and testament of his father in 1490. There are records of Ugo buying and selling land in Carpi in 1495, 1496, and 1503. Ugo lived in Venice from 1509 to 1517, mostly working as a blockcutter for woodcut book illustrations. Venice was a leading publishing centre, particularly the printing of illustrated books. In 1511, a number of woodcut book illustrations bearing the signature “Ugo” were published in Venice. He requested the copyright for an undefined period of time, and for all designs and woodcuts he had made and would make. He set up a workshop in his house and printed and published blocks in his own shop. This work, along with many more of Ugo's chiaroscuro works from this time period, are considered by scholars to be the best examples of "truly reproductive prints." Ugo also produced a writing-book while in Bologna. Writing books were common in Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries and contained pages of letters printed using woodcuts. These books were manuals and attempted to teach others how to write in a similar way to Renaissance humanist manuscripts. Death There remains no consensus about the date of Ugo da Carpi's death. Some scholars cite his year of death as 1523, since that year he was described as “fu Ugone” in a testimony by his daughter. However, a few months later, a different document claimed Ugo was alive, indicating his family may have mistakenly thought he was dead. In January 1532, Ugo was referenced in attendee records from his daughter’s baptism, but in October of that year he was again described as deceased. ==Works==

. One of Ugo's important early commissions, about 1515, was the Sacrifice of Abraham from the Venetian publisher Bernardino Benalius. It was a large black and white print on four joined sheets. As framed, it measures 110.5 x 138.4 x 1.9 cm (43 1/2 x 54 1/2 x 3/4 in.). It is thought to be one of only a few prints designed by Ugo himself, and contains stylistic elements borrowed from Dürer and Titian. It was following this first commission that he requested a patent for his technique. The majority of Ugo's carvings are copies or reproductions of other works. Although the majority of scholars agree that Ugo's woodcut was based on Caraglio's engraving, The print consists of a sophisticated four block design and intricate carving. In the print, the design is built up through areas of colour instead of detailed line work, making it look more like a painting than a print. In this context, the ball on which the seated female figure rests her foot has been identified as the ball of yarn that represented Penelope's fidelity and cunning, while the depiction of Odysseus can be compared with his description in The Odyssey as lit by the light of a fire and silhouetted against a wall. Saint Veronica Altarpiece The Saint Veronica Altarpiece is the only painting known to be Ugo's work. It is thought to have been finished between 1524 and 1527, and was originally located in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. The painting was placed on an altar directly below the chamber that housed the Veil of Veronica, one of the most important relics in Saint Peter's. The Veil of Veronica is one of the most famous achierpoita, or Christian relics which bear a likeness of Christ not made by human hand. According to the Bible of Argenteuil, this acheiropoetos was produced when Veronica wiped the sweat and blood from Christ's face with a linen cloth and Christ's face left an imprint on this cloth. It is still debated among scholars why Ugo, who was not a well-known or especially talented painter, was chosen to create the altar painting for such a famous relic. The painting itself was likely based on a sketch produced by Parmigianino. Vasari reported that Ugo painted this work using his hands, due to the fact that Ugo signed the painting: ‘Per Vgo / da Carpi Intaiatore / fata senza / penello" or "Ugo da Carpi, woodcut engraver, made without the brush." Ugo's signature is misleading, as he did use brushes to produce the altarpiece, but also has an interesting double meaning. The vera icon was considered an acheiropoetos, an image ‘made without human hands.’ Ugo's signature ‘made without the brush’ plays on the creation and understanding of the relic itself. The signature is also a deliberate nod to his identity as a carver. Up until this point, he hadn’t worked with a brush, but with his hands. Although Ugo used brushes in the painting's production, the altarpiece also has fingernail and finger marks. Scholars speculate that due to Ugo's lack of painting experience he used his fingers and fingernails to fix mistakes. == Style ==

In the chiaroscuro technique, multiple blocks were cut and inked with different colours so the resulting print resembles a pen-and-ink sketch. The paper served as the middle tone, and then highlights (chiara) were added with white gouache, and darkness (scuro) and shadow was created by adding crosshatching in pen or a dark wash with a brush. Woodcuts would consist of a key, or line block, which consisted of the contours and crosshatching and a varying number of tone blocks. The key block sometimes stood alone as a black and white print. Ugo's own printings of his woodcuts use a distinctive palette of soft blues and greens. Ugo utilized translucent inks in similar colours, which created nuanced and fluid transitions between one block and the next. Ugo's striking Diogenes carving was printed in green and gold. One of the most distinctive features of Ugo’s carvings, and why he is much better known than other carvers of this time, is that he signed his work. Ugo’s signature is often cleverly incorporated into his prints, as can be seen in the Diogenes print. Diogenes grips a stick in his right hand, directing the viewers’ attention to an open book where the names of both the designer and the printmaker are inscribed. His signatures often acknowledge his identity as an engraver, a printer or a copier. == List of Works ==

• Sybil Reading, Facing Right. Chiaroscuro woodcut from two blocks, 287 x 240 mm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. • Raphael and His Mistress. Chiaroscuro woodcut from three blocks, 181 x 144 mm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. • Three Marys Lamenting the Dead Christ. Woodcut, 218 x 172 mm. British Museum, London. • Hercules Chasing Avarice from the Temple of the Muses. Chiaroscuro woodcut from two blocks (first version), 312 x 237 mm. Albertina, Vienna. • Hercules Chasing Avarice from the Temple of the Muses. Chiaroscuro woodcut from two blocks (second version), 297 x 228 mm. British Museum, London. • Diogenes. Chiaroscuro woodcut from four blocks, 490 x 354 mm, Albertina, Vienna. • David Slaying Goliath. Chiaroscuro woodcut from three blocks, 265 x 392 mm, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis. • Saint Veronica Altarpiece. Tempera and charcoal on panel, 1580 × 1450 mm, Archivio della Fabbrica di San Pietro, Vatican. == References ==