Saint Paul preaching in Athens

Details

MARCANTONIO RAIMONDI (1480-1534) AFTER RAPHAEL (1483-1520)
Saint Paul preaching in Athens
engraving, circa 1517-20, on laid paper, watermark Greek Cross (Briquet 5392; first recorded in 1527), a very good impression, trimmed to or just inside the borderline, some creasing and thin spots, otherwise in good condition
Sheet 265 x 349 mm.

Provenance

With Colnaghi & Co., London (inscribed 43 in pencil verso); their catalogue Mannerism and the North European Tradition: Prints from c.1520-1630, 14 March to 11 April 1974, London, no. 43.
Eric G. Stanley (1913-2018), Oxford; acquired from the above in 1974.

Literature

Bartsch 44; Delaborde 84; Shoemaker 47;
See E. H. Wouk & D. Morris (eds.), Marcantonio Raimondi, Raphael and the Image Multiplied, Manchester, 2016, no. 48, p. 187-8 (another impression illustrated).

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Lot Essay

This engraving depicts Saint Paul while preaching his sermon in the Aeropagus, the ancient court in Athens, although the setting recalls Roman ruins, with a statue of Mars discernible on the right, presumably a reference to the Saint preaching against the sin of idol worship. It has been assumed that Marcantonio's engraving derives from one of Raphael's cartoons commissioned by Pope Leo X for the Sistine Chapel. However, the print is in fact based on two drawings by Raphael (one in the Uffizi, inv. no. 540 E; and one in the Louvre, inv. no. 3884r), which include details not present in Raphael's cartoon.

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