Apollo flaying Marsyas

Engraving, circa 1540, with Antonio Salamanca's excudit at the bottom left.

Based on a subject by Francesco Salviati or Perino del Vaga.

In the lower margin, six Latin verses arranged in three columns: 'Ausus cum Phaebo Satyrus contendere' cantu Pro stolida paenas credulitate luit ...

Example of the second state of four, with the addressed of Antonio Salamanca; subsequent reprints bear the addresses of De Rossi and Pacifici.

Marsyas is tied, standing, to a tree while Apollo, armed with a knife, prepares to flay him. Contrary to traditional iconography of the subject, Marsyas is not positioned upside down. This was, in fact, the punishment for Marsyas's pride in daring to challenge Apollo, god of music and the arts, to a musical contest. In the background, Bramante's Tempietto with San Pietro in Montorio is visible, while at the bottom is the personification of a river flowing from the cave of Celaenae.

According to Diodorus Siculus, the Nysaeans were chosen as judges for the challenge. After carefully listening to the performances of Marsyas on the flute and Apollo on the lyre, they awarded victory to the former. However, the god, feeling defeated, played a second harmony accompanied by a melodious song, convincing the judges to reverse their verdict. Marsyas protested the unfairness of the contest, but Apollo objected that singing was no different from blowing into the flute, so neither of them should use their mouths to play, only their fingers. Thanks to this deception, Marsyas was defeated. In other versions of the myth, such as in Apollodorus' text, Apollo wins by turning the lyre upside down and inviting Marsyas to imitate him. However, while the god, with the instrument upside down, can continue playing, the upside-down flute produces no sound, causing the satyr to lose.

This is an extremely rare print, unknown to Bartsch, whose subject is attributed to Francesco Salviati, as previously argued by Nagler. In 1912, Hermann Voss attributed the invention to Francesco Salviati and the engraving, along with two other prints, to Girolamo Fagiuoli. He based this attribution on Vasari, who recounted that Salviati gave Fagiuoli several drawings for engraving. Suzanne Boorsch rejected both attributions and hypothesized that Perino del Vaga was the author of the drawing.

This engraving is the counterpart to the more common print attributed to Girolamo Fagiuoli. The work was first attributed to Giacomo Caraglio by Zanetti (Zanetti, b. 1453); reproduced in Alfredo Petrucci, Panorama della Incisione italiana: il Cinquecento (Petrucci, 44). Regardless of the question of attribution, the print is striking for its Mannerist pathos and the captivating visual appeal of the composition. Based on the fact that this plate was published by Salamanca, we can chronologically place this plate before that of Fagiuoli, printed by the rival Antonio Lafreri (cfr. Rubach n. 159).

A fine work, printed on contemporary laid paper with a "kneeling saint" watermark, similar to Briquet 7628, two horizontal paper folds, otherwise in excellent condition.

Collection’s mark of Plinio Nardecchia.

Bibliografia

Massari, Tra mito e allegoria, p. 317; Borea, Stampe da modelli fiorentini nel Cinquecento, p. 271; Nova 'Francesco Salviati e gli editori 1. Le incisioni', in “Francesco Salviati (1510-1563) o la Bella Maniera”, 1998, p.67; S. Boorsch, 'Salviati and Prints: the Question of Fagiuoli', in “Francesco Salviati et la bella maniera”, 2001; Luisa Mortari, Francesco Salviati, 1992, n.26, p. 300.