An Assembly of Scholars

This engraving is a reversed copy after a woodcut by Giuseppe Porta Salviati, which was made as frontispiece to Le Sorti di Francesco Marcolino da Forlì intitolate Giardino di Pensieri, first published in 1540. Bartsch attributed the engraving to Marco Dente and described it as after a design by Francesco Salviati, of whom Giuseppe Porta Salviati was a pupil. However, because Marco Dente died in 1527, the engraving must have been executed in his manner by another artist. Lettered with monogram 'SR' at lower left. According to Ruland (1876), the composition is derived from Raphael's first sketch for the School of Athens. An impression of the woodcut by Giuseppe Porta Salviati can be found at RCIN 852587.