The Prophet Isaiah

A print copying, without text, the second plate of Nicolas Chaperon's Sacrae Historiae Acta a Raphael Urbin in Vaticanis xystis ad picturae miraculum expressa (Rome, 1649), which reproduces the fresco The Prophet Isaiah, painted by Raphael in the church of Sant'Agostino, Rome, c.1511-12. On watermarked paper. Borders trimmed.

This print was catalogued by Ruland (1876) as a counterproof of Chaperon's etching, but minor variations demonstrate that it is clearly a copy after that print. See 853799 for an impression of the second state of Chaperon's etching.

The Prophet Isaiah was commissioned by Johann Goritz, a curial prelate, humanist and patron of the arts, for a pier in Sant'Agostino. The fresco formed part of a decorative ensemble which also included a sculpture of the Virgin, Child and St Anne by Andrea Sansovino and an altar; Goritz's tomb lies below the pier. The monumental figure of Raphael's fresco especially reveals the influence of Michelangelo's work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, though Raphael probably did not completely repaint the figure of Isaiah after seeing his contemporary's works, as Vasari claimed.