Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalen

Called the Michelangelo of small works, Giulio Clovio was known for translating the monumental forms of Michelangelo into works on the smallest scale, such as illuminated manuscripts. This engraving (made after Clovio’s design) sets the bold, lean, and twisting bodies of Christ and Mary Magdalene against a garden scene more typical of manuscript illuminations. The print was engraved and published in Antwerp, a center for print and book publishing in the second half of the 1500s. The dissemination of this and other such works spread Michelangelo’s figural style throughout Europe.