Tapestries
PIETRO SANTI BARTOLI (1635-1700)
The Adoration of the Magi
c.1655-1690Etching | 26.2 x 45.3 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 853260
A print from three plates, reproducing (in reverse) the composition of the tapestry of ‘The Adoration of the Magi’, one from a twelve-piece set depicting scenes from the Life of Christ, traditionally known as the ‘Scuola Nuova’ (eleven of which survive today in the Vatican Museums). Lettered with production details and dedication. It has been suggested that one of the three plates may have been etched by Michel Corneille (Passavant 1860).
The ‘Scuola Nuova’ set was probably commissioned by Pope Leo X, but the project seems to have been reactivated by Clement VII after his election as pope in 1523. Apparently designed by Raphael’s former assistants after the death of the master (perhaps incorporating some models by Raphael himself), the tapestries were woven in the workshop of Pieter van Aelst and completed by 1531, when the set was delivered to Rome. Ruland (1876) seemed to accept the traditional view according to which the ‘Scuola Nuova’ set was a gift to Leo X from Francis I on the occasion of the canonization of Francesco di Paola in 1519; this view has been recently rejected. For further discussion, see Bibliographic References.
The ‘Scuola Nuova’ set was probably commissioned by Pope Leo X, but the project seems to have been reactivated by Clement VII after his election as pope in 1523. Apparently designed by Raphael’s former assistants after the death of the master (perhaps incorporating some models by Raphael himself), the tapestries were woven in the workshop of Pieter van Aelst and completed by 1531, when the set was delivered to Rome. Ruland (1876) seemed to accept the traditional view according to which the ‘Scuola Nuova’ set was a gift to Leo X from Francis I on the occasion of the canonization of Francesco di Paola in 1519; this view has been recently rejected. For further discussion, see Bibliographic References.
Creator(s)
Pietro Santi Bartoli (1635-1700) (etcher)
After a work by the workshop of Raphael (Urbino 1483-Rome 1520) (designer)
Attributed to Michel Corneille (Orléans 1602-Paris 1664) (etcher)
Pietro Santi Bartoli (1635-1700) (designer)
Rome : Domenico de' Rossi : ad Templum S Mariae de Pace (publisher)
26.2 x 45.3 cm (sheet of paper)
25.7 x 44.8 cm (platemark)
- Added to the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection (c.1853-76)
Subject(s)
- Religion & Theology
- Religions and faiths
- Christianity
- Life of Christ
- Infancy of Christ
- Adoration of the Magi
- Infancy of Christ
- Life of Christ
- Christianity
- Religions and faiths
- Religion & Theology
Bibliographic reference(s)
pp.140-41, no.III.1 (entry by Simonetta Prosperi Valenti Rodinò) (Raphael Invenit 1985 : Bernini Pezzini, G. et al., 1985. Raphael Invenit. Stampe di Raffaello nelle Collezioni dell'Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica, Rome)
