Logge di Rafaele nel Vaticino “Raphael Engraving; Plate 22”




Raphael Sanzio (Italian: Raffaello April 6 or March 28, 1483 — April 6, 1520) usually known by his first name alone, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance, celebrated for the perfection and grace of his paintings and drawings. Together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period.

Raphael was enormously productive, running an unusually large workshop, and despite his death at thirty-seven, a large body of his work remains. Many of his works are found in the Apostolic Palace of The Vatican, where the frescoed Raphael Rooms were the central, and the largest, work of his career. After his early years in Rome, much of his work was designed by him and executed largely by the workshop from his drawings, with considerable loss of quality. He was extremely influential in his lifetime, though outside Rome his work was mostly known from his collaborative printmaking. After his death, the influence of his great rival Michelangelo was more widespread until the 18th and 19th centuries, when Raphael’s more serene and harmonious qualities were again regarded as the highest models.

His career falls naturally into three phases and three styles, first described by Giorgio Vasari: his early years in Umbria, then a period of about four years (from 1504—1508) absorbing the artistic traditions of Florence, followed by his last hectic and triumphant twelve years in Rome, working for two Popes and their close associates.

RAPHAEL’S VATICAN FRESCOES; Plate 22, engraved by Giovanni Ottaviani after Gaetano Savorelli and Pietro Camporesi. These magnificent plates depict the decorations in the private loggia of Pope Leo X in the Vatican, designed and executed (with some assistance) in 1517—19 by Raphael.
Each contain a large, well-realized biblical scene at the top center, depicting Old Testament moments (the influence of Michelangelo’s recently completed Sistine chapel is obvious) plus the Last Supper. In addition to these scenes, the decorations constitute an extraordinarily delightful repository of various figures and motifs, ranging from grotesques, mythological characters, and fabulous beasts to luscious clumps of fruit and naturalistic depictions of birds and other animals, with many of the designs being taken from ancient gems and statues, or inspired by the wall paintings of Nero’s Golden House. Our engravings are of particular interest today because the frescoes they depict are now damaged beyond recognition, the loggia walls having been for many years exposed to the elements. (In fact, for the present work, the decision was made to appropriate certain elements from Raphael’s Vatican tapestries to “fill in” areas of the original frescoes that were no longer visible.)

The “Logge di Rafaele nel Vaticano” was published in three parts, with a first volume issued in 1772 and a third in 1777 (a fourth part, said to be printed in 1790.

Here we have RAPHAEL’S VATICAN FRESCOES; (Jacob and Rachel) Plate 22, engraved by Giovanni Ottavia. Engraving from a early impression on antique Laid paper.

The work measure 8.75 by 11.50 inches (plate mark measurement) with wide margins. Approximately one to one and a quarter inch margins. There is a partial watermark in the paper of a “Crown of Lorraine” watermark (attributed to ), 17th century Impression (NO IMAGE available of the partial watermark).

Published as inscribed in the lower corner of the engraved work (see second image) This is In good condition with minor foxing on verso NOT effecting the engraved work.

Here are some recent International Auctions prices for these works

RAPHAEL[AFTER] Loggia di Psiche,Roma,Villa Farnesia 06/21/99 $2,560
RAPHAEL Loggie de Rafael nel Vaticano:pl.22 10/23/08 $2,500
RAPHAEL Loggie de Rafael nel Vaticano:pl.13 10/23/08 $3,600
RAPHAEL Loggie de Rafael nel Vaticano:pl.22 10/23/08 $3,500
RAPHAEL Loggie de Rafael nel Vaticano:pl.22 10/23/08 $3,500
RAPHAEL Loggie di Rafaele nel Vaticano 03/25/99 $3.402

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