THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART BULLETIN | VOLUME 63 | NUMBER 4

Raphael at the Metropolitan: The Colonna Altarpiece

Wolk-Simon, Linda

2006

76 pages

102 illustrations

This title is out of print.

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Description

About the authors

The Renaissance master Raphael (1483–1520) painted the Colonna altarpiece circa 1504–05 for a convent in Perugia. It was subsequently owned by Queen Christina of Sweden, the duc d'Orléans of France, and the Colonna family in Rome. In 1901, J. Pierpont Morgan acquired the altarpiece, which was still in a private collection, paying the phenomenal sum of two million francs. Morgan's son bequeathed the painting to the Metropolitan Museum in 1916, and it remains one of the great treasures of the collection.

This catalogue explores the altarpiece's commission in the context of Raphael's career. Its fascinating history, new technical findings, and a reconstruction of the original altarpiece with its long-separated predella panels are featured. Raphael's preparatory drawings and selected works by such mentors as Perugino, Pinturicchio, and Fra Bartolommeo are illustrated and supplement this intriguing history, which unfolded over the course of four centuries.

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Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints, Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) Italian, Oil and gold on wood — Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints
Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi)
ca. 1504

J. Pierpont Morgan, Esq., Edward J. Steichen American, born Luxembourg, Gum bichromate over platinum print — J. Pierpont Morgan, Esq.
Edward J. Steichen
1903, printed 1909–10

The Agony in the Garden, Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) Italian, Oil on wood — The Agony in the Garden
Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi)
ca. 1504

St. Barbara, Master FVB Netherlandish, Engraving — St. Barbara
Master FVB
late 15th century

Raccolta Delle Più Belle Veduta Antiche, E Moderne Di Roma..., Giuseppe Vasi , Rome Italian, Etching — Raccolta Delle Più Belle Veduta Antiche, E Moderne Di Roma...
Giuseppe Vasi
1786

Five Nude Infants in Various Poses, Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) Italian, Metalpoint, traces of charcoal or black chalk, on pale pinkish gray prepared paper. — Five Nude Infants in Various Poses
Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi)
ca. 1500

Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist; upper left, Study for the Right Arm of the Infant Saint John; upper right, Study for Drapery (recto); Study of a Nude Male Figure (verso), Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) Italian, Red chalk (recto); pen and brown ink (verso) — Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist; upper left, Study for the Right Arm of the Infant Saint John; upper right, Study for Drapery (recto); Study of a Nude Male Figure (verso)
Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi)
ca. 1506–7

The Resurrection, Perugino (Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci) Italian, Tempera on wood — The Resurrection
Perugino (Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci)

Saint John the Baptist; Saint Lucy, Perugino (Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci) Italian, Oil(?) on wood — Saint John the Baptist; Saint Lucy
Perugino (Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci)

Landscape (recto); Landscape (verso), Perugino (Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci) Italian, Brush and brown wash, highlighted with white gouache, on gray-green prepared paper (recto); pen and brown ink on unprepared off-white paper (verso) — Landscape (recto); Landscape (verso)
Perugino (Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci)
1489–90

Study of the Head of a Youth Gazing Upward, Perugino (Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci) Italian, Black chalk; Squared in black chalk; eyes, nose, ears, mouth retouched with pen and brown ink. — Study of the Head of a Youth Gazing Upward
Perugino (Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci)
late 15th–early 16th century

Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist, Fra Bartolomeo (Bartolomeo di Paolo del Fattorino) Italian, Oil and gold on wood — Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist
Fra Bartolomeo (Bartolomeo di Paolo del Fattorino)
ca. 1497

Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist and Two Putti (recto); Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist and a Putto (verso), Fra Bartolomeo (Bartolomeo di Paolo del Fattorino) Italian, Pen and brown ink, touches of brown wash, heightened with white (partly oxidized), over traces of black chalk, on tinted paper; partial tracing of figures from the verso (recto); Pen and brown ink over black chalk (verso) — Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist and Two Putti (recto); Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist and a Putto (verso)
Fra Bartolomeo (Bartolomeo di Paolo del Fattorino)
1505–6(?)

Approach to a Mountain Village with Horsemen on the Road, Fra Bartolomeo (Bartolomeo di Paolo del Fattorino) Italian, Pen and brown ink, traces of black chalk; mounted on an album page — Approach to a Mountain Village with Horsemen on the Road
Fra Bartolomeo (Bartolomeo di Paolo del Fattorino)
ca. 1501

Compositional Sketches for the Virgin Adoring the Christ Child, with and without the Infant St. John the Baptist; Diagram of a Perspectival Projection (recto); Slight Doodles (verso), Leonardo da Vinci Italian, Silverpoint, partly reworked by the artist with pen and dark brown ink on pink prepared paper; lines ruled with metalpoint (recto); pen and brown ink (verso) — Compositional Sketches for the Virgin Adoring the Christ Child, with and without the Infant St. John the Baptist; Diagram of a Perspectival Projection (recto); Slight Doodles (verso)
Leonardo da Vinci
1480–85

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Wolk-Simon, Linda. 2006. Raphael at the Metropolitan: The Colonna Altarpiece. New York : New Haven [Conn.]: Metropolitan Museum of Art ; Yale University Press.

Raphael at the Metropolitan: The Colonna Altarpiece

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