The grave of Raffaello Morghen, Santa Croce, Florence

Raffaello Morghen (19 June 1758 – 8 April 1833) was an Italian engraver.

Life

He was born in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, apparently to a German family of engravers. He received his earliest instructions from his father, himself an engraver; but, to obtain more advanced training, he was placed as a pupil under the celebrated

Giovanni Volpato Giovanni Volpato (1735–1803) was an Italian engraver. He was also an excavator, dealer in antiquities and manufacturer of biscuit porcelain figurines. Biography Giovanni Volpato was born in Bassano del Grappa (then in the state of Venice). ...

. He assisted this master in engraving the famous pictures of

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

in the

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

, and the print which represents the ''miracle of Bolsena'' is inscribed with his name. He married Volpato's daughter, and, being invited to Florence to engrave the masterpieces of the Florentine Gallery, he removed thither with his wife in 1782. His reputation now became so great as to induce the artists of Florence to recommend him to the grand duke as a fit person to engrave the ''Last Supper'' of

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

; apart, however, from the dilapidated state of the picture itself, the drawing made for Morghen was unworthy of the original, and the print, in consequence, although an admirable production, fails to convey a correct idea of the style and merit of Leonardo. Morghen's fame, however, soon extended over Europe; and the

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, as a mark of their admiration of his talents, elected him an associate in 1803. In 1812

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

invited him to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and paid him the most flattering attentions. He died in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. He is buried in the Church of Santa Croce in Florence.

Works

A list of the artist's works, published at Florence in 1810, comprised 200 compositions; the number was afterwards considerably increased. Other than those mentioned above, the most notable include his engravings of Raphael's '' Transfiguration'', a ''Mary Magdalene'' by Murillo, a ''Head of the Saviour'' by da Vinci, Guido Reni's ''

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

'',

Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for ...

's ''

A Dance to the Music of Time ''A Dance to the Music of Time'' is a 12-volume ''roman-fleuve'' by English writer Anthony Powell, published between 1951 and 1975 to critical acclaim. The story is an often comic examination of movements and manners, power and passivity in Eng ...

'' and ''

The Flight into Egypt The flight into Egypt is a story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew ( Matthew 2:13– 23) and in New Testament apocrypha. Soon after the visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee to Egypt with Mary and the i ...

'',

Domenichino Domenico Zampieri (, ; October 21, 1581 – April 6, 1641), known by the diminutive Domenichino (, ) after his shortness, was an Italian Baroque painter of the Bolognese School of painters. Life Domenichino was born in Bologna, son of a sho ...

's '' Archery Contest of Diana and her Nymphs'',

Van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh ...

's ''Portrait of Francesco de Moncada'' and anonymous portraits of

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

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Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...

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Tasso TASSO (Two Arm Spectrometer SOlenoid) was a particle detector at the PETRA particle accelerator at the German national laboratory DESY. The TASSO collaboration is best known for having discovered the gluon, the mediator of the strong interaction an ...

and other famous men. They also include engravings of Antonio Canova's ''

Theseus and the Minotaur Theseus and the Minotaur is a type of logic maze designed by Robert Abbott. In this maze, the player acts as Theseus, the king of Athens who is attempting to escape the Labyrinth. The main difference between this and the standard type of labyrin ...

'' and the same sculptor's monument to

Pope Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII ( la, Clemens XIII; it, Clemente XIII; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. ...

. His prints have hardly maintained the reputation which they enjoyed during the artists lifetime. Though carefully and delicately executed, they are somewhat mechanical and wanting in force and spirit.

Giovanni Folo Giovanni Folo (1764–1836) was an Italian engraver of the Neoclassic period, active in Italy. Folo was born in Bassano del Grappa. He originally studied with Giulio Golini and Giovanni Battista Mengardi in Venice. In 1781 he moved to Rome ...

of Bassano was a pupil of Volpato, then of Morghen himself. Giovacchino Cantini was also a pupil of Morghen.

References

*
Catholic Encyclopedia article
*Iscrizioni e memorie della città di Firenze By Francesco Bigazzi (googlebooks) pages 178–179. {{DEFAULTSORT:Morghen, Raffaello Italian engravers 1758 births 1833 deaths