- Title
- Portrait of Raphael, Seated
- Date Made
- circa 1517-1519
- Medium
- Engraving
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 5 1/2 × 4 1/4 in. (13.97 × 10.8 cm)
Image: 5 1/2 × 4 1/4 in. (13.97 × 10.8 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.88.32
- Collecting Area
- Prints and Drawings
- Curatorial Notes
By the time this print was made, Marcantonio and Raphael had known each other for half a decade, their friendship apparent in the relaxed intimacy of this portrait. The Renaissance master is shown seated, paint pots and a palette at left, and a panel at right. The refined simplicity of his robe and plain surroundings reinforce the artist’s sprezzatura, a quality ascribed to him by the courtier Baldassare Castiglione, who admired Raphael’s ability to effortlessly create graceful, complex compositions. It is possible this engraving was intended as a tribute to the artist, as Marcantonio uses the equilibrium of the portrait to echo the harmony of Raphael’s own compositions, many of which Marcantonio engraved.
Claire Spadafora Baes
2024
- Selected Bibliography
- Bartsch, Adam von. The Illustrated Bartsch. New York: Abaris Books, 1978.
- Oberhuber, Konrad. Renaissance in Italien. New York, NY: Arno/Worldwide, 1968.
- Sohm, Philip. "Senescent and Inspiring Palattes." Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art 40, no.2/3 (2018): 167-85.
- Wolk-Simon, Linda. "Remains of the Deity." Apollo 192, no.688 (2020): 32-37.
