ow much earlier is uncertain.
Working mainly after the loose, fresh wash drawings of Raphael and
Parmigianino he developed a method of reducing their tonal constituents
to two or three simple areas plus a partial outline, each of which was
cut on a separate block. The blocks were then inked with transparent
tones and printed one over the other to achieve gradations. White
highlights were imitated, as in the German manner, by cutting out lines
on a tone block to let the white paper assert itself. The result was a
broadly treated facsimile of the original drawing. Some liberties were
occasionally taken in interpretation, and sometimes fanciful changes
were made in color combinations.

This technique was followed in Italy during the remainder of the 1500's,
the most prominent early workers being Antonio da Trento (Fantuzzi),
Domenico Beccafumi, and Giuseppe Niccolo Vicentino. Late in the century
Andrea Andreani acquired a large number of blocks by previous Italian
chiaroscurists and reissued them, adding his own monogram. By
multiplying these subjects he reduced their rarity and emphasized their
distinct character, their difference from other types of prints. The
Italian term "chiaroscuro," meaning light and dark, has persisted as a
generic name for this class of work.

The Italian and German techniques were often pursued in variant styles.
The Germans sometimes used three blocks, with outlines not only in black
but in a tone and white as well. Burgkmair's _Death as a Strangler_ (B.
40)[10] and Wechtlin's _Alcon Freeing his Son from the Serpent_ (B. 9)
are of this type.

[Footnote 10: Adam Bartsch, _Le Peintre graveur_, Vienna,
1803-1821.]

The Italians, in turn, often used two blocks in the German fashion,
reproducing a complete crosshatched pen drawing with one tint block.
Even da Carpi used this procedure more than occasionally, as in _St.
John Preaching in the Desert_ after Raphael (B. XII), and in _The
Harvest_ after Giulio Romano (B. XII). Most other Italian chiaroscurists
made frequent use of this method which had the virtue of simplicity.
Outstanding exponents included Niccolo Boldrini, who worked chiefly
after drawings by Titian, and in the early 17th century the brothers
Bartolomeo and G. B. Coriolano. Andreani's prints were usually in a more
independent style which employed a clear outline in gray or soft brown
with three tints blocks. While technical procedures were identical in
Italian and German