Saint John the Baptist

Active in Venice, where he learned to generate the diffuse, smoky effects characteristic of his teacher Giorgione, the painter and printmaker Giulio Campagnola is best remembered for his engraving. The artist invented the stipple engraving technique seen here, which was especially popular for reproductions in the 18th and 19th centuries, and he produced this work almost entirely out of dots and flecks. Silhouetting the hard-edged figure of John against a stark white background, Campagnola also relied on a drawing by Andrea Mantegna to give the prophet a powerful presence.