Vatican Frescoes
Vatican Frescoes
Alexander Preserving the Works of Homer
c.1520Engraving | RCIN 852517
An engraving based upon a drawing attributed to Raphael now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (inv. no.WA1935.152). First state. Signed with empty tablet at lower centre.
The composition is that of a small grisaille fresco painted below the Parnassus in the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican. The drawing now in the Ashmolean differs from both the engraving and the fresco in only minor details. Scholars have long debated whether the drawing was made specifically for the engraving or for the grisaille fresco, or whether it was copied from the latter. The drawing is now generally accepted as a preparatory study for the fresco, later engraved by Raimondi. For further discussion, see Bibliographic References.
The composition is that of a small grisaille fresco painted below the Parnassus in the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican. The drawing now in the Ashmolean differs from both the engraving and the fresco in only minor details. Scholars have long debated whether the drawing was made specifically for the engraving or for the grisaille fresco, or whether it was copied from the latter. The drawing is now generally accepted as a preparatory study for the fresco, later engraved by Raimondi. For further discussion, see Bibliographic References.
Added to the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection (c.1853-76)
