The Fall of the Giants

This dramatic scene from Greek mythology depicts the battle for supremacy between the Giants (the earth-born children of Gaia, goddess of the Earth) and the heavenly gods of Mount Olympus. The Giants were defeated, and their banishment from the heavens established the cosmic order foundational to ancient Greek belief.

The Bolognese painter Guido Reni designed this dynamic composition of heroic bodies tumbling from the skies specifically for translation into print. According to his early biographer, Reni, who was known for quiet religious compositions, wished to demonstrate that he could also depict the muscular nude in motion. Bartolomeo Coriolano was a member of Reni’s workshop, and a highly skilled practitioner of the chiaroscuro woodcut technique, which involved printing different blocks for each color layered on top of each other. A total of twelve blocks were used to print this technically ambitious work.