Life and Legend of the Virgin Mary
Life and Legend of the Virgin Mary
LUIGI CELOTTI (1759-1843)
Three male heads
published 1829Etching | 27.4 x 21.5 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 851378
A print after a drawing by an artist from the circle of Perugino, formerly attributed to Raphael; part of the 'Libretto Veneziano', now in the Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice (f. 33r). Published in 'Disegni originali di Raffaello Sanzio [...] nella Imperial Regia Accademia di belle arti di Venezia', Venice 1829, plate II.
The head at lower right seems to copy one of the heads of the shepherds from a multi-figure study by Raphael now in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm (inv. no.296) made in preparation for the 'Adoration of the Magi', the central predella scene of the so-called 'Oddi Altarpiece' now in the Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican City (inv. no.335). A photograph of the drawing in Stockholm can be found at RCIN 851376.
The drawing reproduced in this print is part of the so-called "Libretto di Raffaello" or "Libretto Veneziano", 53 sheets that used to be mounted in a volume. After complicated negotiations, the sketchbook was bought by the Accademia in the 1820s, after the death of Giuseppe Bossi, who was its previous owner. A number of scholars debated the author of the drawings (with many names proposed, such as Pinturicchio, Antonio da Viterbo, Eusebio del Giorgio, Girolamo Genga) and their date. In 1984, the drawings were catalogued as by an artist contemporary to Raphael, whose juvenile works he copied in this sketchbook (see Bibliographic References).
The head at lower right seems to copy one of the heads of the shepherds from a multi-figure study by Raphael now in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm (inv. no.296) made in preparation for the 'Adoration of the Magi', the central predella scene of the so-called 'Oddi Altarpiece' now in the Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican City (inv. no.335). A photograph of the drawing in Stockholm can be found at RCIN 851376.
The drawing reproduced in this print is part of the so-called "Libretto di Raffaello" or "Libretto Veneziano", 53 sheets that used to be mounted in a volume. After complicated negotiations, the sketchbook was bought by the Accademia in the 1820s, after the death of Giuseppe Bossi, who was its previous owner. A number of scholars debated the author of the drawings (with many names proposed, such as Pinturicchio, Antonio da Viterbo, Eusebio del Giorgio, Girolamo Genga) and their date. In 1984, the drawings were catalogued as by an artist contemporary to Raphael, whose juvenile works he copied in this sketchbook (see Bibliographic References).
Creator(s)
Luigi Celotti (1759-1843) (publisher)
After a work by the circle of Pietro Perugino (Città della Pieve c.1450-Fontignano 1523) (artist)
After a work previously attributed to Raphael (Urbino 1483-Rome 1520) (artist)
27.4 x 21.5 cm (sheet of paper)
23.0 x 17.0 cm (platemark)
- Added to the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection (c.1853-76)