This uncommon print is the result of an experimental combination of two mediums, etching and chiaroscuro woodcut. It is the earliest example of the two printmaking techniques being used to create one image, and presumably represents a rare instance of a direct collaboration between Parmigianino as an etcher and either Ugo da Carpi or Antonio da Trento as a woodcutter, which must have occurred during Parmigianino's years in Bologna.
The four registration holes at the corners of the sheet are evidence for the way the woodblocks, providing the tonal shading of the scene, were superimposed onto Parmigianino's etching. The composition follows Raphael's design for a tapestry depicting one of the Acts of the Apostles, commissioned by Pope Leo X and woven in Brussels.
We are grateful to Catherine Jenkins and Naoko Takahatake for their help in establishing the state of the present impression.