[Seven plates of the Acts of St Peter and St Paul, after Raphael]
Sold by R. Sayer in Fleet Street [c.1750]
Seven mezzotints, rare in original wrappers, 210 x 300mm (8¼ x 11¾"); very large margins.
Reproductions of seven of the set of ten cartoons depicting the Acts of St Peter and St Paul commissioned from Raphael by Pope Leo X. The cartoons were used a designs from which tapestries were made to cover the lower walls of the Sistine Chapel. In 1623 seven of the cartoons, having spent the early 16th century being passed around weavers' workshops in Brussels, were brought to England by Charles I for £300. They were long displayed at Hampton Court (Charles had his own set of tapestries made) and by the end of the 17th century had become appreciated as important artworks in their own right. In the 18th century various sets of engravings such as these in the 18th reinforced the reputation of the cartoons as some of the most significant artworks in Britain. Since 1865 they have been on loan from the Royal Collection to London's Victoria & Albert Museum, where they are permanently displayed together. The seven scenes are: The Miraculous Draught of Fishes; Christ's Charge to Peter; The Lame Man Healed by Peter & John; The Death of Ananias; Elymas the Sorcerer, Struck with Blindness; Paul and Barnabas at Lystra; and Paul Preaching at Athens.
For a different set of engravings from the cartoons see ref. 38432
[Ref: 40655] £550.00
Seven mezzotints, rare in original wrappers, 210 x 300mm (8¼ x 11¾"); very large margins.
Reproductions of seven of the set of ten cartoons depicting the Acts of St Peter and St Paul commissioned from Raphael by Pope Leo X. The cartoons were used a designs from which tapestries were made to cover the lower walls of the Sistine Chapel. In 1623 seven of the cartoons, having spent the early 16th century being passed around weavers' workshops in Brussels, were brought to England by Charles I for £300. They were long displayed at Hampton Court (Charles had his own set of tapestries made) and by the end of the 17th century had become appreciated as important artworks in their own right. In the 18th century various sets of engravings such as these in the 18th reinforced the reputation of the cartoons as some of the most significant artworks in Britain. Since 1865 they have been on loan from the Royal Collection to London's Victoria & Albert Museum, where they are permanently displayed together. The seven scenes are: The Miraculous Draught of Fishes; Christ's Charge to Peter; The Lame Man Healed by Peter & John; The Death of Ananias; Elymas the Sorcerer, Struck with Blindness; Paul and Barnabas at Lystra; and Paul Preaching at Athens.
For a different set of engravings from the cartoons see ref. 38432
[Ref: 40655] £550.00