BLUE BEEHIVE MARK, SIGNED A. BEER, CIRCA 1880

Details

A VIENNA STYLE PINK AND CLARET GROUND CHARGER, 'DER BURGBRAND'
BLUE BEEHIVE MARK, SIGNED A. BEER, CIRCA 1880
Finely painted after Raphael with a scene of Rome ablaze, while above the fray Pope Leo IV addresses the panicked crowd and through prayer extinguishes the blaze, the canted rectangular panel reserved within an elaborately gilt circular surround, the periphery interrupted by four classical sepia and grisaille medallions
24 in. (61 cm.) diameter, within a gilt gesso frame

Provenance

Anonymous sale, Sotheby's, London, 6 & 8 March 2001, lot 168

Lot Essay

The present example, 'Fire in the Borgo', is based on a frescoe executed by Raphael in 1514 for the Palazzi Vaticani in Rome. The event shown here helped reestablish the holiness of the church under Leo IV. The frescoe itself was part of a series executed at the time of Pope Leo X election. By chance or accident, Raphael was working on a fresco in the Stanza d'Eliodoro which could be interpreted as a celebration of his namesake Pope Leo I. Post election Raphael choose scenes from the lives of Leo III and Leo IV as its major points.

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