Other Frescoes
Other Frescoes
The triumph of Galatea
published 1734Etching | RCIN 853842
A print by Bernard Picart reproducing a drawing then in the collection of Goswin Uilenbrock, where it was considered a preparatory drawing by Raphael for the fresco The triumph of Galatea painted by Raphael in the loggia of the Villa Farnesina, Rome c.1512. Lettered with title, attribution of the design to Raphael and information about its provenance. Trimmed on all sides. Annotated on verso. Published as Plate 6 in Impostures innocentes, ou Recueil d'estampes d'après divers peintres illustres (Amsterdam, 1734).
Impostures innocentes was published posthumously by Picart's widow. It comprises a defence, written by Picart, of reproductive printmaking, a series of plates reproducing Old Master drawings and paintings and a biography and catalogue of Picart's works. For other prints by Picart in the Raphael Collection, see RCINs 850203, 850204, 850709, 851010, 851720, 851815, 852499, 852665, 852666 and 853870. For a copy of the volume, see RCIN 809004; for more information on Picart and the publication see Bibliographic References.
The triumph of Galatea was Raphael's first commission from the Papal banker Agostino Chigi for the Villa Farnesina; he later also frescoed the villa's entrance loggia, as well as working on the banker's chapels in Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Pace, both also in Rome. Raphael's literary source for his depiction of Galatea was a poem by Poliziano which celebrated the victory of Giuliano de'Medici in a joust of 1475. Contemporaneously, Sebastiano del Piombo painted a fresco adjacent to Raphael's, again based on Poliziano's poem, depicting the giant Polyphemus. It seems likely that a full cycle of frescoes was planned for the loggia but that this plan was abandoned, for reasons unknown.
Impostures innocentes was published posthumously by Picart's widow. It comprises a defence, written by Picart, of reproductive printmaking, a series of plates reproducing Old Master drawings and paintings and a biography and catalogue of Picart's works. For other prints by Picart in the Raphael Collection, see RCINs 850203, 850204, 850709, 851010, 851720, 851815, 852499, 852665, 852666 and 853870. For a copy of the volume, see RCIN 809004; for more information on Picart and the publication see Bibliographic References.
The triumph of Galatea was Raphael's first commission from the Papal banker Agostino Chigi for the Villa Farnesina; he later also frescoed the villa's entrance loggia, as well as working on the banker's chapels in Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Pace, both also in Rome. Raphael's literary source for his depiction of Galatea was a poem by Poliziano which celebrated the victory of Giuliano de'Medici in a joust of 1475. Contemporaneously, Sebastiano del Piombo painted a fresco adjacent to Raphael's, again based on Poliziano's poem, depicting the giant Polyphemus. It seems likely that a full cycle of frescoes was planned for the loggia but that this plan was abandoned, for reasons unknown.
- Added to the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection (c.1853-76)
