The frescoes in the Vatican Palace commissioned by Popes Julius II and Leo X
Frederick Christian Lewis (1779-1856)
Study for the allegorical figure of Poetry published 7 February 1809
Crayon-manner | 45.5 x 32.5 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 852628
A facsimile of a drawing by Raphael (c.1509-10) now in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle (RCIN 912734; see RCIN 852627 for a photograph of the drawing). Lettered with production details and provenance of the work below image. Annotated in pencil at lower right. Included in 'Original Designs of the Most Celebrated Masters of the Bolognese, Roman Florentine and Venetian Schools ... in His Majesty's collection', London 1812, plate XLIII.
The roundel for which this drawing is a study depicts Poetry, flanked by two winged putti holding inscribed panels, from the vault of the Stanza della Segnatura (see RCIN 852621 for a photograph of the painting), where it is painted above the fresco of 'Parnassus'. From 1508 until his death in 1520, Raphael undertook the decoration of a number of spaces in the Vatican Palace for, first, Pope Julius II and, later, Leo X. The first of these commissions was for what was probably the Pope's private library, known as the Stanza della Segnatura. The major aspects of the decorative scheme of the room are as follows: personifications of Poetry, Theology, Jurisprudence and Philosophy in roundels on the vault, with four narrative scenes known as the School of Athens, the Parnassus, the Disputa and the Three Cardinal Virtues on the walls below.
The roundel for which this drawing is a study depicts Poetry, flanked by two winged putti holding inscribed panels, from the vault of the Stanza della Segnatura (see RCIN 852621 for a photograph of the painting), where it is painted above the fresco of 'Parnassus'. From 1508 until his death in 1520, Raphael undertook the decoration of a number of spaces in the Vatican Palace for, first, Pope Julius II and, later, Leo X. The first of these commissions was for what was probably the Pope's private library, known as the Stanza della Segnatura. The major aspects of the decorative scheme of the room are as follows: personifications of Poetry, Theology, Jurisprudence and Philosophy in roundels on the vault, with four narrative scenes known as the School of Athens, the Parnassus, the Disputa and the Three Cardinal Virtues on the walls below.
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Creator(s)
Frederick Christian Lewis (1779-1856) (printmaker)
After Raphael (Urbino 1483-Rome 1520) (artist)
John Chamberlaine (1745-1812) (publisher)
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annotation: 43 [front, lower right, in pencil]
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45.5 x 32.5 cm (sheet of paper)
42.1 x 28.5 cm (platemark)
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Added to the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection (c.1853-76)
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Object type(s)
- visual works
- prints
Subject(s)
- Places
- Europe
- Italy
- Lazio [Italy]
- Rome [Lazio]
- Vatican City [Rome]
- Vatican Palace [Vatican City]
- Stanza della Segnatura [Vatican Palace]
- Vatican-Stanza della Segnatura-Ceiling
- Stanza della Segnatura [Vatican Palace]
- Vatican Palace [Vatican City]
- Vatican City [Rome]
- Rome [Lazio]
- Lazio [Italy]
- Italy
- Europe
- visual works
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Other number(s)
Ruland p.195 F.II.8
Bibliographic reference(s)
Joannides 1983 : Joannides, P., 1983. The Drawings of Raphael, with a complete catalogue, Oxford p.194, no.248
Clayton 1999 : Clayton, M. Raphael and his Circle. Drawings from Windsor Castle, London p.68, under no.15
Höper 2001 : Höper, C. Raffael und die Folgen, Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2001 p.390, no.F 6.14
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The aims of The Royal Collection Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational activities.