Large Pair Of XVIII Hand Colored Engravings Of Panels From The Lodge Of Raphael In The Vatican

Rare and exceptional PAIR OF HAND-COLOURED ENGRAVINGS OF ARCHITECTURAL PANELS OF THE RAPHAEL'S VATICAN LOGGIA
BY JOANNES VOLPATO, ROME, CIRCA 1774 AND 1775




Sanzio d’Urbino (1483-1520) (after)
Ludovico Teseo (intermediate draftsman)
Giovanni Volpato (1740-1803) (engraver)

Frescoed PilastersfromLoggia di Rafaele nel Vaticano [Loggia of Raphael in the Vatican]
Rome: 1775-76
Engravings hand colored in gouache
41 x 19 inches, overall
48 x 26.5 inches with frame passe-partout

Pair of architectural fresco studies from the splendid 83-plate survey of the ornamental frescoes designed by Raphael for Pope Leo X’s Loggia, an open-sided vaulted gallery in the Vatican. As a whole, the collection of prints published asLoggia di Rafaele nel Vaticanocomprises a series of architectural studies of arches and ceilings, pilaster columns, and doors. The frescoed arches with classical festoons and grotesque ornament are surmounted in vaults by frescoes of biblical stories. The frescoed pilasters (flat painted columns) with similar ornament line the hallways below the arches.
The offered pair of pilasters are rich in detailed Renaissance designs inspired by ancient Roman art. Each pilaster is essentially comprised of three vertical panels. The panels are set within moldings at top and bottom, and decorated with a rosette frieze under the top molding, and a medial Vitruvian scroll frieze in the lower portion. Each central vertical panel is decorated with classical figures and grotesques, above a vivid picture of an animal (one of ducks, the other a Nereid ). These are flanked by symmetrical vertical panels comprised of grisaille paintings of mythological and allegorical figures and emblems above faux marble reserves.Loggia di Rafaelecontains both asymmetrical pilasters and symmetrical ones like these with continuous molding across the top. The symmetrical ones generally are considered the more desirable and valuable of the pilaster prints from the series.


The prints in this set are based on renderings by the painter Gaetano Savorelli and the draughtsman Ludovico Teseo. Pietro Camporesi (1726-1781), a Roman architect worked for Pope Clemens XIII and Pius VI in the 18th Century on rooms for the Vatican Museum, and contributed to designs inLoggia di Rafaele nel Vaticano, particularly its frontispiece. The prints were etched and engraved by Giovanni Ottaviani and Giovanni Volpato. These artists took some liberties in borrowing elements from Raphael’s Vatican tapestries to fill in elements that were illegible in the original frescoes due to deterioration over time. Thus, the prints are amalgam of actual and supposed design elements of Raphael.
Full publication information: “Ludovicus Teseo Taurinensis delin. Joannes Volpato sculp. Romae 1775” (pilaster with ducks); “Ludovicus Teseo Taurinensis delin. Joannes Volpato sculp. Romae 1776” (pilaster with dragon).

Condition: Generally very good with only minor toning and wear. Center horizontal fold, as issued. Margins trimmed close or within platemark, probably as issued.