Decorative pilaster incorporating the 'Border with the Four Seasons'

dated 1775

Engraving with etching | 104.1 x 48.4 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 853071

A print on two joined sheets representing a vertical pilaster decorated with grotesque ornament and incorporating various motifs, including the Four Seasons (from top to bottom: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter). Dated and lettered with artists' names. Numbered at upper left: No. 8. Published in G. Volpato and G. Ottaviani, Loggie de Rafaele nel Vaticano, vol.III, plate 8.

The central vertical panel is derived from the border originally woven along the side edge of one of the tapestries from the series of The Acts of the Apostles now in the Vatican Museums; it is generally known as the Border of the Four Seasons (inv. no.43867.2.2). The original position of the border within the set is subject of debate. A photograph from the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection shows the Border of the Four Seasons at the left of the tapestry of Christ's Charge to Peter (RCIN 853039). For further discussion, see Bibliographic References.

Creator(s)

Giovanni Volpato (1733-1803) (printmaker)

After Raphael (1483-1520) (designer)

Ludovico Teseo (1731-82) (designer)
104.1 x 48.4 cm (sheet of paper)
Added to the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection (c.1853-76)
Subject(s)
- Science, Medicine and Technology
  Construction
  Structural parts of buildings
  Pilasters
- Natural Sciences & Mathematics
  Earth sciences
  Seasons
- Places
  Europe
  Italy
  Lazio [Italy]
  Rome [Lazio]
  Vatican City [Rome]
  Vatican Palace [Vatican City]
  Sistine Chapel [Vatican Palace]
  Vatican-Sistine Chapel tapestries
Object type(s)
Bibliographic reference(s)

Raphael Invenit 1985 : G. Bernini Pezzini et al., Raphael Invenit. Stampe di Raffaello nelle Collezioni dell'Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica, Rome, 1985 p.106, no.42 (entry by Grazia Bernini Pezzini)

Cordellier/Py 1992 : Raphael : son atelier, ses copistes, 1992 / par Dominique Cordellier et Bernadette Py, Paris (Inventaire general des dessins Italiens ; V / sous la direction de Francoise Viatte) p.265

Höper 2001 : Höper, C. Raffael und die Folgen, Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2001 p.480, no.G 21.40

Raphael. Cartoons and Tapestries 2010 : Raphael. Cartoons and Tapestries for the Sistine Chapel. Edited by M. Evans and C. Browne with A. Nesselrath, V&A Publishing 2010 pp.126-7, no.12

Other number(s)

Ruland p.246 B.II.33

Tapestries

Decorative pilaster incorporating the 'Border with the Four Seasons'

Creator(s)

Subject(s)

Object type(s)

Bibliographic reference(s)

Other number(s)

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