Artwork
The Prophet Jeremiah
The Prophet Jeremiah is a print by the Impressionist artist Cesari Mariannecci. It dates from 1871 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
This is a 1871 print titled The Prophet Jeremiah.
It’s a chromolithograph made for the Arundel Society.
The ink sticks to greasy lines on wet stone, one color at a time.
Made for subscribers to see far-away art at home.
Each color needs its own stone and press pass.
That’s why the print looks so rich in layers.
Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Overview
The Prophet Jeremiah is a chromolithograph print created in 1871 for the Arundel Society, an organization that disseminated reproductions of significant artworks to its subscribers.
Technique & Style
This print was produced using a multi-step process involving greasy chalk designs on stone, moistening, and applying ink, with each color requiring a separate stone and press pass, resulting in a richly layered image.
History & Provenance
The Arundel Society, which circulated over 200,000 chromolithographs before its closure in 1897, commissioned this print, and its subscribers, drawn from various backgrounds, received reproductions of notable artworks, including this one.
Context
The Arundel Society focused on Italian fresco cycles from the 14th to 16th centuries, employing artists to copy these works, which were then reproduced as chromolithographs for distribution to subscribers.
Artist & collection
Artist
Cesari Mariannecci kept a studio in Rome where she turned Greek myths and Bible stories into prints that looked like drawings.
Copy after Michelangelo’s fresco of the ‘Prophet Jeremiah’ on the Sistine Chapel vault (Sistine Chapel, Rome, about 1512)
Copy after Michelangelo’s fresco of the ‘Persian Sibyl’ on the Sistine Chapel vault (Sistine Chapel, Rome, 1511-1512).
Copy after Michelangelo’s fresco of the ‘Prophet Ezekiel’ on the Sistine Chapel vault (Sistine Chapel, Rome, about 1511)