(Pair of Vatican wall decorations) Loggie di Rafaele nel Vaticano. Rome, 1772-77. Framed pair $2,800.00

Gaetano Savorelli, Pietro Camporesi.  Plates VI and VIII

Original 18th century oblong folio engravings included in the first series of Camporesi's spectacular series of decorative engravings of Raphael's loggie, the wall embellishments painted in the Pope's private apartments, beautifully decorated by Bramante and upon his death in 1514, the murals were finished by Raphael and his pupil Giovani da Udine in 1519.

Loggie di Raphael nel Vaticano was a work commissioned by Pope Clement XIII to portray one of the best kept secrets of the Renaissance. The plates depict the pilaster frescoes, in stucco relief, of the doorways and windows of the Pope's private apartments. The murals are renown for their highly stylized portrayal of classical and biblical scenes and figures. The fanciful "grotesqueness" of Raphael and Udine's designs show how much they were inspired by the recently discovered Golden House of Nero.

Indeed the term "grotesque" was born out of the loggie, having been applied to it due to the similarity of the designs in the subterranean rooms or "grottoes" of Nero's Palace and these pilaster's frescoes. Some historians place these designs amongst the defining pieces of the Italian Renaissance along with Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and Masaccio's Carine Church.

Decoratively framed in carved gold and burled wood frame. 

Oblong folio copperplate engravings.
44 x 17 inches sight, 54 x 20 inches outside frame dimensions.
Clean impression with good old color, some time toning to paper, otherwise very good condition.