Dante Lost in the Wood: Escaping and Meeting Virgil, Canto I

Baccio Baldini was a Florentine printmaker and goldsmith credited with pioneering the technique of fine engraving in Italy during the late fifteenth century. His engravings, often after designs by Sandro Botticelli and other leading Florentine painters, established a model for reproductive printmaking that would dominate European workshops for centuries. Working in Florence, Baldini translated monumental panel paintings and drawings into intricate copper plates of unprecedented refinement and tonal range. His technical innovations in line work and cross-hatching set a standard for the medium that extended well beyond his lifetime.