This website presents our knowledge and research on this important aspect of the Royal Collection. As of April 2026 it will not be regularly updated and new research on this topic will sit within the main website.

Visit the Royal Collection

Holy Families & Madonna and Child

Holy Families & Madonna and Child

    AFTER RAPHAEL (1483-1520)

    Letter to Domenico Alfani

    c.1853-76

    Albumen print | 7.0 x 23.3 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 851227

    A photograph of the upper portion of a drawing by Raphael currently housed in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lille (inv. no.459 v). The photograph shows a letter written by Raphael and addressed to his associate, Domenico Alfani. The letter refers to the commission of the so-called Baglioni Entombment, which Raphael completed in 1507. The painting is now in the Museo e Galleria di Villa Borghese, Rome (inv. no.170).

    On the recto side of the drawing is a study by Raphael which the master provided Domenico Alfani with as modello for a painting executed by the latter in 1511 and now in the Galleria Nazionale, Perugia. For a photograph of the recto, see RCIN 851226. For a photograph of Alfani's painting, see RCIN 851228.

    A photograph after this drawing is also included in the "Portraits of Raphael-Miscellaneous Illustrations of Raphael’s Life" section of the Raphael Collection: see RCIN 850151 for it.

    • Creator(s)

      After Raphael (1483-1520) (artist)

    • 7.0 x 23.3 cm (sheet of paper)

    • Acquired for the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection (c.1853-76)

    • Subject(s)
      • Organisation
        • Form of documents
          • Correspondence
      Object type(s)
        • visual works
          • photographs
    • Bibliographic reference(s)

      Joannides 1983 : Joannides, P., 1983. The Drawings of Raphael, with a complete catalogue, Oxford p.175, no.174v

      Brejon de Lavergnée 1997 : Brejon de Lavergnée, B, 1997. Catalogue des dessins Italiens. Collections du Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, Paris pp.184-5, no.459

      Raphael et l'art francais 1983-84 : Hommage a Raphael. Raphael et l'art francais (Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, 15 novembre 1983-13 fevrier 1984) pp.223-4, no.54

      Other number(s)

      Ruland p.93 C.XXIX.2

    PreviousNext
    PreviousNext
    Policy links
    Royal Collection TrustIn Partnership with

    Royal Collection Trust is a charity caring for the Royal Collection and welcoming visitors to the royal palaces. We bring our shared history to life through world-class experiences that involve and inspire people, wherever they are. Income from tickets and retail sales helps us to conserve the Collection so that it can be enjoyed by everyone for generations to come.