Tapestries
Tapestries
AFTER A WORK COPYING THE WORKSHOP OF RAPHAEL
The Presentation in the Temple
c.1853-76Albumen print | 20.4 x 24.1 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 853276
A photograph of a drawing catalogued by Ruland (1876) as being then in the collection of W. Russell. The drawing is a copy after the tapestry of ‘The Presentation in the Temple’, 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).
Other drawings of this composition survive in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (inv. no.4275) and Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (inv. no.WA1846.299). See RCINs 853274, 853275. Ruland (1876) lists a further similar drawing as being then in the possession of Mr Ford (?).
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 view that 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.
Other drawings of this composition survive in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (inv. no.4275) and Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (inv. no.WA1846.299). See RCINs 853274, 853275. Ruland (1876) lists a further similar drawing as being then in the possession of Mr Ford (?).
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 view that 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)
After a work copying The Workshop of Raphael (artist)
20.4 x 24.1 cm (sheet of paper)
Acquired for the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection (c.1853-76)
Subject(s)
- Religion & Theology
- Religions and faiths
- Christianity
- Life of Christ
- Infancy of Christ
- Christ-Presentation in Temple (NOT Circumcision)
- Infancy of Christ
- Life of Christ
- Christianity
- Religions and faiths
- Religion & Theology
Bibliographic reference(s)
pp.236-41 (Tapestry in the Renaissance 2002 : Tapestry in the Renaissance. Art and Magnificence, ed. Thomas P. Campbell, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 2002)
