Maso Finiguerra

Maso Tommasoii Finiguerra (1426–1464) remains a foundational figure in early Renaissance Florentine graphic art. Primarily trained as a highly skilled goldsmith and niellist in the mid-Quattrocento, his brief but influential career provided vital insights into the technical development of printmaking during a period of intense artistic experimentation.

His historical notoriety was dramatically amplified by the sixteenth-century biographer Giorgio Vasari, who erroneously credited Finiguerra with the invention of engraving as an independent print medium. This famous assertion, which situated the artist as a crucial precursor in the history of old master prints, secured his fame for centuries but obscured the actual origins of the technique. Scholars eventually recognized that Vasari, in his characteristic enthusiasm for Florentine priority, had given undue credit, overlooking the earlier establishment of the practice in northern Europe. This revision of the historical record does little, however, to diminish the intrinsic quality of Finiguerra’s own output.

The surviving corpus attributed to Finiguerra, consisting of only a handful of nielli, prints, and preliminary drawings, confirms his mastery of line and detail derived directly from his goldsmith training. Works held in major institutions, including the National Gallery of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, showcase a refined, often dramatic figurative style. Prints such as the complex religious scene The Virgin and Child Enthroned, with Angels and Saints and the dynamically charged mythological study Cupid carrying a fowl accompanied by a dog, and another cupid playing a trumpet demonstrate a technical precision previously reserved for metal objects.

Finiguerra's true significance rests less on a contested technical invention and more on the sophisticated artistic bridge he provided between the minute draftsmanship required for niello and the expansive potential of the copperplate. His surviving sheets are essential references for understanding graphic development in Florence. The subtle power and technical clarity evident in works like Two Warriors, One with a Winged Genie on His Helmet reveal an early master defining a nascent art form. Fortunately for modern study, documentation of key items, including Maso Finiguerra prints, is often available as high-quality prints, sustaining the legacy of this early Renaissance engraver.