Trentaquatro Retratti d [sic] li Sumi Pontefici
Artist and engraver Camillo Graffico Italian
Not on view
Print series containing a title page and 35 (contrary to the 34 in the title) prints showing portraits of Popes. According to the title of the series, the portraits are all 'drawn from life'. The lineage starts with Pope Clement V (1294) and ends with Sixtus V (1585-1590). The addition of Sixtus, which must have been done after the the print series was first conceived , explains the incongruency between the number of portraits in the title and the actual number. The portraits have all been printed from small oval plates and are surrounded by large strapwork cartouches, which have been printed from seperate plates. There are five different cartouches which are used throughout the series.
