The Vision of St Helena

An etching with engraving after a detail of the painting by Paolo Veronese depicting the Vision of St Helena, now in the National Gallery, London (inv. no. NG1041). This print is lettered with title, the name of Veronese identified as the painter and with publication details. Signed by the printmaker. Trimmed within the platemark.

Veronese's painting is inspired by a drawing now in the Uffizi, Florence (inv. no. 1973 F) by Raphael, and which is dated 1514 by Joannides (see Bibliographic References). The drawing was traditionally catalogued as by Parmigianino (Bartsch suggested that this print was after a drawing either by Raphael or Parmigianino). More recently, archival documents have proved the attribution of the drawing to Raphael (see Bibliographic References).

The female figure has been variously interpreted as Danae (on the basis of a later inscription on the drawing) or most likely as the representation of St Helena. According to the story, during her quest to discover the location of the True Cross (the cross on which Christ had been crucified), St Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, received divine help whilst dreaming.

In the drawing in the Uffizi the woman is depicted on the left, with various studies for God the Father appearing to Moses and architectural studies for St Peter's Basilica. The first set of studies is related to the composition of Moses before the Burning Bush, designed by Raphael and painted in the vault of the Stanza di Eliodoro in the Vatican.