Summer (Estate), represented as a robed woman bearing a horn of plenty, a spandrel-shaped composition from the series 'The Four Seasons' after Polidoro da Caravaggio

Printmaking in woodcut and engraving came to Northern Italy within a few decades of their invention north of the Alps. Engraving probably came first to Florence in the 1440s, the goldsmith Maso Finiguerra (1426–64) used the technique. Italian engraving caught the very early Renaissance, 1460–1490. Print copying was a widely accepted practice, as well as copying of paintings viewed as images in their own right.

Polidoro da Caravaggio was an Italian Renaissance painter and architect. He was born in Caravaggio, Italy, around 1499 and is believed to have trained under the painter Andrea del Sarto in Florence. Polidoro is best known for his frescoes, which often depict mythological scenes and are characterised by vivid colours and dramatic compositions. He worked mainly in Rome, where he collaborated with the artist Maturino da Firenze on several projects, including the decoration of the Villa Farnesina. In addition to his work as a painter, Polidoro was also an accomplished architect. He designed several buildings in Rome, including the Palazzo Milesi and the Palazzo Caprini. Polidoro died in 1543, aged 44, and his work had a significant influence on later artists, particularly those working in the Baroque style.