Giulio Romano, the favorite pupil of the painter Raphael, created a revolution in his time by depicting 16 positions of love. Marcantonio Raimondi engraved them and published them. This was too much for the Church, and Raimondi was sentenced for publishing lascivious pictures.
In 1525, Pietro Becci, a religious writer, wrote 16 erotic sonnets to accompany Raimondi's engravings. Known as "Aretino," Becci was a friend of the rich and the famous: Francis I, the king of France, and the Emperor Charles V. Since he was a famous poet from the court of the Medici, as well as an artist honored by Pope Clement VII, Becci could pull a few strings. Raimondi was forgiven.
