Pope Saint Gregory redeems several souls through the power of his Prayer. ca. 1733/34

Francesco Fontebasso

1707 – Venice – 1769

Etching after Sebastiano Ricci. Sheet size: 47.6 x 32 cm. De Vesme 2 (II/III)

Excellent impression on laid paper with remnants of a watermark. Precise in every detail, with all needle marks along the plate edge and prior to the retouching of the lettering. Very well preserved with the exception of three thin areas where the print was originally mounted. Otherwise untouched and fresh with small margins around the plate mark.

In 1730 Sebastiano Ricci was commissioned to paint the altarpiece by Count Tassi of Bergamo. The work was reproduced in etching around 1733/4 by Fontebasso. There are only two documented etchings by this artist, of which ours - along with a later version (De Vesme 3) after another painting by Ricci (Daniels 294, today in St Gervais et St. Protais, Paris) - is the more important. “Exquisitely etched” in Nagler's opinion (v, p.75).