Watercolour, Copy after Raphael’s fresco representing the ‘Poets on Mount Parnassus’ in the Stanza della Segnatura (Vatican Palace, Rome, 1510-11), 1864-66

Watercolour on paperboard. Copy after the fresco of the ‘Poets on Mount Parnassus’. The fresco is contained within a lunette decorated around the edge with blue and yellow geometric patterns and painted-marble decorative elements. Apollo, seated at the centre of the composition, is singing and is listened to by the Muses, flanked by numerous men and women in coloured clothes, who portray the most important poets of Western history. The top of a marble frieze is visible below the fresco on either side of the entryway.

Apollo, the Muses and poets on the Mount Parnassus.

National Gallery, 1993.

Watercolour made for the Arundel Society in 1864-66; given in 1897 to the National Gallery, London; transferred to the V&A in 1993.

This watercolour is a copy made by Cesare Mariannecci for the Arundel Society after one of the scenes in the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican, representing the ‘Poets on Mount Parnassus’ which was executed by Raphael in 1510-11.

Original work

The decoration of the Vatican Stanze was first commissioned by Pope Julius II (1443-1513) and continued by his successors Pope Leo X (1475-1521) and Clement VII (1478-1534). The first Stanza to be frescoed was the Stanza della Segnatura (1508-1511), and was mostly decorated by Raphael (1483-1520). The walls of the room, probably that of Pope's library, are painted with scenes representing the four areas of knowledge (theology, poetry, philosophy and jurisprudence). The ceiling recalls the themes frescoed on the walls, allegorising the same concepts in four medallions.

By the nineteenth century, Raphael's Roman style was mostly associated with the wall frescoes of the Stanze Vaticane, while his painting on the ceilings of the same rooms were almost entirely forgotten.

<b>Arundel Society </b>

The Arundel Society was founded in 1848 to promote knowledge of the art through the publication of reproductions of works of art. The Society was named after Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel (1585-1646), important aristocratic patron and collector of the early Stuart period. The Society was intended to reach the largest possible audience through these reproductions. Subjects were chosen because of their instructive meaning rather than their popularity. In addition to copies of famous paintings, the Society published an English translation of Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of the most excellent painters, made in 1850 by Giovanni Aubrey Bezzi (1785-1789), one of the founding members of the Society.

The Arundel Society popularised Renaissance art, particularly that of the Italian Old Masters, echoing a growing interest for ‘primitives’ in the second half of the nineteenth century. The founding members of the Arundel Society were all acknowledge experts on Italian art. For instance, Sir Charles Eastlake (1793–1865; painter and art administrator), whose house was the meeting point of the Society, was Director of the National Gallery in London from 1855 until 1865 and during his tenure, he began one of the finest collections of Italian art in Britain.
Other preeminent members were John Ruskin (1819-1900, English writer, painter and collector), who supervised projects including the watercolours series of the Upper and Lower Church in Assisi, and Sir Austen H. Layard (1817-1894; English archaeologist, politician, diplomat, collector and writer). Layard lived and travelled in Italy for many years and his knowledge of the country’s art was extensive. It was thanks to Layard’s funding that the Society were able to publish copies of the watercolours made at their direction using chromolithography. Although photography was increasingly popular, as photographs could only be made in black and white, chromolithography was chosen as it was felt to be closer to the principals of the Arundel Society: they were coloured and had the aura of traditional prints. In this way, copies were more like the originals.

The Society reached the height of its popularity in the 1860s. However, by the end of the century, it faced mounting criticism with regards to the accuracy of its watercolour copies. The Society ceased its activities in 1897. At this time the availability of second-hand prints had increased and the Society found it difficult to find market for its chromolithographs. Moreover, photographic reproductions were becoming increasingly popular thanks to technical advances. The last display of the Arundel Society’s watercolours took place at the National Gallery and when the Society was dissolved, some watercolours were given to that Institution, while others were acquired by the then South Kensington Museum (now V&A). The outstanding watercolours were transferred from the National Gallery to the V&A in the 1990s.

In 1864, Cesare Mariannecci, was commissioned by the Arundel Society to copy some of the frescoes painted by Raphael in the Vatican Stanze in watercolour so as to convey the effect of the fresco technique. The artist gave a polished version of the subject of the ‘Poets on Mount Parnassus’, reproducing in a very precise way both the different tonalities in the protagonists’ clothes and their facial expressions, and did not show any sign of deterioration in his copy.

The watercolour was transposed as a chromolithograph, which does not include the hint at the painted-marble frieze below the lunette. The print was published in 1873 by Storch and Kramer in one of the Arundel Society’s issues, which were available to the public by subscription. When the Arundel Society was dissolved in 1897, the original watercolours were given to the National Gallery, which eventually transferred them to the V&A in 1993 where they have remained since then.

Commissioned by the Arundel Society

This watercolour is a copy after the fresco representing the ‘Poets on Mount Parnassus’ (the Greek mountain traditionally associated with the Muses and Apollo, who are the patrons of all the arts, and especially poetry) in the Stanza della Segnatura, which was executed by Raphael in 1510-11.

In 1864-66, Cesare Mariannecci (c.1819-c.1894) was commissioned by the Arundel Society to copy it. From 1864 to 1868, the artist copied eight scenes from both the Stanza della Segnatura and the Stanza di Eliodoro for the Arundel Society. This watercolour was later transposed as a chromolithograph which was published in 1873 by Storch and Kramer. When the Arundel Society was dissolved in 1897, the watercolour was given to the National Gallery, who eventually transferred it to the V&A in 1993, where it has remained since.

The decoration of the Vatican Stanze was first commissioned by Pope Julius II (1443-1513) and continued by his successors Pope Leo X (1475-1521) and Clement VII (1478-1534). The first Stanza to be frescoed was the Stanza della Segnatura (1508-1511), and was mostly decorated by Raphael (1483-1520).

E.258-1995