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Overview
The painter and printmaker Annibale Carracci was one of the principal members of the hugely significant family of late 16th century Bolognese artists who rejected the perceived decadence of Mannerism and brought a readable classicism to art. They are often classified by art historians as 'early Baroque'.
This work belongs with a group of prints dated to the years 1590-92, the Holy Family, the Magdalene and the Venus and Satyr, in which effects of very strong light are explored. The composition is remarkable for the layering of space and the way we see the main scene behind the dark profile of the foreground fountain. It is as if we ourselves lurk in the shadows to spy. The effect is reminiscent of Annibale's fresco scheme of the Palazzo Magnani, where sculptural figures are set in front of, and overlapping with a painted narrative (c.1589/90). This could suggest a similar date for the Susanna.
It is a large and ambitious print with a wide lower margin as if to contain an inscription. In its second state, as published by Stefanoni c.1621-23, the margin was used for the dedication to Francesco Gualdo; this is evident in Te Papa's impression. Presumably Annibale executed it with the idea of making such a dedication. This is the most elaborate print that he had made since the Holy Family with St Michael and the infant St John of 1582. A series of very ambitious prints by Agostino Carracci in the later 1580s, with his address prominently diplayed, along with this work by Annibale and the Holy Family under an Arch by Lodovico, make one wonder whether in those years the three Carracci were not exploring the possibility of a family print business.
Dr Mark Stocker Curator, Historical International Art February 2017