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1 of 253523 objects
A study of the Almighty c.1853-76
Albumen print | 21.8 x 21.2 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 853850

After Raphael (1483-1520)
A study of the Almighty c.1853-76
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A photograph of a drawing by Raphael in the Ashmolean, Oxford (inv.no.WA1846.207) for the roundel mosaic depicting the Eternal Father in the cupola of the chapel of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome, which was executed by Luigi de Pace in 1516 after Raphael's design. Annotated on verso.
On the verso of this sheet is another drawing by Raphael of the same figure but posed in the opposite direction (see RCIN 853851 for a photograph of this drawing). This latter pose matches that in the executed mosaic.
The Chigi chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo was the burial place of the Papal banker Agostino Chigi, who commissioned Raphael to work on a number of projects in Rome during the 1510s. Raphael was responsible for designing the chapel itself as well as all aspects of its decoration, which encompassed mosaics, sculptures, tombs and (probably) an altarpiece. In the cupola of the chapel, a central roundel containing a depiction of God the Father is surrounded by compartments containing personifications of the seven planets and stars, all executed in mosaic. The chapel remained unfinished at the deaths of both artist and patron in 1520.Provenance
Acquired for the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection (c.1853-76)
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Albumen print
Measurements
21.8 x 21.2 cm (sheet of paper)
Markings
annotation: T 716 / Red chalk ; top; A.3.2. [verso, top left corner; middle; top right corner, in ink]
Category
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
Bibliographic reference(s)
Joannides 1983 : Joannides, P., 1983. The Drawings of Raphael, with a complete catalogue, Oxford no.386r
Jones/Penny 1983 : Jones, R. and Penny, N. Raphael, 1983 pp.105-111