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Lot Essay
Already in the early nineteenth century, in a publication of the Italian art historian Pietro Zani (1748-1821), this intriguing drawing was associated with a rare engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi (1480-1534), of which the composition (in reverse) corresponds indeed closely with that of the present sheet. Then in the collection in Naples of a Don Ciccio de Luca, Zani believed it to be an original drawing by Raphael, and deemed it ‘d’un estrema bellezza’ (op. cit., p. 168). The drawing is even closer in composition to that of a chiaroscuro woodcut by Ugo da Carpi (1480-1532), which attributes the design explicitly to ‘RAPHAEL VRBINAS’. The woodcut is also closer to the size of the drawing, whereas Marcantonio’s engraving is much larger (around 41 by 28 cm). As proposed by Achim Gnann, Ugo’s woodcut must have preceded the engraving, of which the design appears more coherent and fluid, and which seems to have improved also on certain awkward details in the woodcut, notably as the rungs of the ladder (Achim Gnann in Roma e lo stile classico di Raffaello, 1515-1527, cat. exh. Mantua, Palazzo del Te, and Vienna, Graphische Sammlung Albertina, 1999, nos. 109, 110, ill.). More recently, watermark research has established the woodcut must date from 1518 or shortly before (L. Stiber Morenus and N. Takahatake in The Chiaroscuro Woodcut in Renaissance Italy, exhib. cat. exh., Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Washington, National Gallery of Art, 2018-2019, nos. 13, 14, ill.).
Given the date of Ugo’s print, signed and made when Raphael was still alive, it can be assumed that the maker of the drawing was active in Raphael’s studio, and was responsible for the design of the two prints. Among his assistants whose manner can be compared to that of the drawing is the young Perino del Vaga (1501-1547), but the outlines of his style and of that of the other artists active at the time under Raphael’s direction are too ill-defined to allow for a firm attribution. A drawing that is somewhat comparable in style are the Distribution of lands by lottery at Windsor Castle (inv. RCIN 912728; see A.E. Popham and J. Wilde, The Italian Drawings of the XV and XVI Centuries in the Collection of His Majesty the King at Windsor Castle, London, 1949, no. 807, fig. 156, as School of Raphael; now attributed to Giulio Romano). Despite this uncertainty, the rediscovery of a drawing from the immediate circle of one the greats masters of the Italian Renaissance, probably made in preparation of not one but two important prints, is an exciting one, and will undoubtedly lead to a further exploration of the studio’s involvement in the production of graphic works that helped disseminate the master’s style and fame.
Given the date of Ugo’s print, signed and made when Raphael was still alive, it can be assumed that the maker of the drawing was active in Raphael’s studio, and was responsible for the design of the two prints. Among his assistants whose manner can be compared to that of the drawing is the young Perino del Vaga (1501-1547), but the outlines of his style and of that of the other artists active at the time under Raphael’s direction are too ill-defined to allow for a firm attribution. A drawing that is somewhat comparable in style are the Distribution of lands by lottery at Windsor Castle (inv. RCIN 912728; see A.E. Popham and J. Wilde, The Italian Drawings of the XV and XVI Centuries in the Collection of His Majesty the King at Windsor Castle, London, 1949, no. 807, fig. 156, as School of Raphael; now attributed to Giulio Romano). Despite this uncertainty, the rediscovery of a drawing from the immediate circle of one the greats masters of the Italian Renaissance, probably made in preparation of not one but two important prints, is an exciting one, and will undoubtedly lead to a further exploration of the studio’s involvement in the production of graphic works that helped disseminate the master’s style and fame.