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| Study of a Marble Horse on the Quirinal Hill ("OPUS PRAXITELIS"), ca. 1515-16, red chalk over leadpoint and stylus underdrawing, with annotations by another hand in pen and brown ink, on paper, Raphael |
In this final group of images from Raphael: Sublime Poetry, I return to a simple impression: the enduring power of Raphael’s work.
As noted in the previous pieces, there is something distinct about encountering these works in person. They retain their clarity, their calm, their sense of proportion—qualities that feel increasingly rare. Even after leaving the galleries, that impression remains.
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| (L) Head of a Horse (Cartoon Fragment for the Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple, Stanza di Eliodoro), ca. 1512, charcoal, black chalk, outlines pricked for transfer of the design, on six glued sheets of paper; the cropping of the right border at top and bottom possibly conforms to the shape of a giornata; with restoration, varnished, and losses made up, Raphael. (R) The Virgin and Child (Cartoon for the Mackintosh Madonna), ca. 1509-11, black chalk, charcoal, highlighted with touches of white chalk, with incised compass arcs and a vertical axis line; outlines incised and pricked for transfer of the design, and rubbed with pouncing dust; on two sheets glued with overlapping seams (original paper support); retouching and integrations by early restorers, Raphael |
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| (L) Study of a Putto with the Impresa of Pope Leo X de Medici, ca. 1513-14, black chalk, highlighted with white chalk, with later framing lines in black chalk, on paper, Raphael. (R) Standing Putto Bearing a Garland on a Curved Plaster Surface, ca. 1512, detached fresco fragment with a layer of surface plaster, adhered to cork and anchored to a cadorite slab with aluminum brackets |
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| (L) Head of an Apostle ("Auxiliary Cartoon" for the Transfiguration), ca. 1519-20, black chalk, drawn freehand over pounce marks (spolvero underdrawing), on paper, Raphael. (R) Head of an Apostle ("Auxiliary Cartoon" for the Transfiguration), ca. 1519-20, black chalk drawn freehand over pounce marks (spolvero underdrawing) and stylus underdrawing, unrelated design in pounce marks (spolvero), on paper, Raphael |
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| (L) Portable Icon with the Virgin Eleousa, Byzantine, probably Constantinople, early 1300s. miniature mosaic set in wax on wood with gold, multicolored stones, and gilded copper. (R) The Virgin and Child in a Niche, ca. 1460, glazed terracotta with gilt and painted details, Lucca della Robbia |
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| (L) Heads and Hands of Two Apostles ("Auxiliary Cartoon" for the Transfiguration), ca. 1519-20, black chalk drawn freehand over pounce marks (spolvero underdrawing), traces of white gouache highlights, on paper, Raphael. (R) Study for a Kneeling Woman in the Foreground of the Transfiguration; Unrelated Designs of a Cornice in Profile, ca. 1519-20, black chalk, charcoal, highlighted in white gouache, stylus incisions to correct contours, over partial pounce marks (spolvero underdrawing); pen and grayish brown ink with ruling (cornice); on paper washed light grayish brown, Raphael |
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| (L) The Death of Lucretia, ca. 1510-12, engraving, Marcantonio Raimondi, ca. 1480-before 1534, after Raphael. (R) A Woman Standing before Rocks (The Muse Clio), ca. 1490-94, pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, highlighted with white gouache over stylus underdrawing on off green prepared paper, Giovanni Santi (Giovanni di Sante di Peruzzolo); ca. 1439-1494 |
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| (L) Head of the Muse Polyhymnia (Auxiliary Cartoon" for the Parnassus, Stanza della Segnatura), ca. 1511-12, black chalk drawn freehand over pounce marks (spolvero underdrawing), traces of stylus underdrawing, and partly unrelated design in pounce marks (spolvero), on paper, Raphael. (R) Portrait of Pope Leo X de Medici (Cartoon Fragment for the Figure of Pope Clement I in the Sala di Costantino), ca. 1520, black chalk with stumping, highlighted extensively in white chalk, outlines stylus-incised for transfer of the design; irregular shape of the original paper support conforming partly to a giornata, Giulio Romano (Giulio Pippi); 14997-1546 |
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| Two Roundels with the Mater Dolorosa and Saint Peter, ca. 1501-3, pen and brown ink over leadpoint underdrawing; incised compass construction for the drawn circular framing outlines; outlines finely pricked for transfer of the design; recto and verso rubbed with black-chalk pouncing dust, on paper, Raphael |
