The Death of Ananias
Print
ca. 1516 (made)
ca. 1516 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This print represents the moment when Ananias is struck down and dies after lying to Saint Peter about the proportion of earnings he is giving to the Church.
This print is in reverse of the Raphael's Cartoon of the same subject. The so-called Raphael Cartoons are seven full size designs for tapestries by the great Italian Renaissance artist Raphael (1483-1520). They illustrate passages from the Bible concerning the lives of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. None of them is smaller than ten feet high by thirteen feet wide. They belong to Her Majesty the Queen and have been on loan to this museum since 1865. The earliest print relating to the Raphael Cartoons dates from 1516, the year in which Raphael received final payment for the commission. It inaugurates an extraordinary case study in the history of printmaking, stretching over more than four hundred and fifty years and across a wide range of printmaking techniques.
This is the only one of three engravings done in Raphael's lifetime by engravers in his circle, which carries his name. The squared pavement seen in the Cartoon is missing in this print and there are major differences between it and the Cartoon in the two top corners. Differences between the engravings and the Cartoons show that engravers in the sixteenth century were working from preparatory drawings, not the Cartoons themselves. Although there are differences, it is noticeable that the prints produced by engravers associated with Raphael give a much more complete idea of the overall compositions than prints produced by other printmakers later in the sixteenth century who did not have privileged access to the artist.
This print is in reverse of the Raphael's Cartoon of the same subject. The so-called Raphael Cartoons are seven full size designs for tapestries by the great Italian Renaissance artist Raphael (1483-1520). They illustrate passages from the Bible concerning the lives of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. None of them is smaller than ten feet high by thirteen feet wide. They belong to Her Majesty the Queen and have been on loan to this museum since 1865. The earliest print relating to the Raphael Cartoons dates from 1516, the year in which Raphael received final payment for the commission. It inaugurates an extraordinary case study in the history of printmaking, stretching over more than four hundred and fifty years and across a wide range of printmaking techniques.
This is the only one of three engravings done in Raphael's lifetime by engravers in his circle, which carries his name. The squared pavement seen in the Cartoon is missing in this print and there are major differences between it and the Cartoon in the two top corners. Differences between the engravings and the Cartoons show that engravers in the sixteenth century were working from preparatory drawings, not the Cartoons themselves. Although there are differences, it is noticeable that the prints produced by engravers associated with Raphael give a much more complete idea of the overall compositions than prints produced by other printmakers later in the sixteenth century who did not have privileged access to the artist.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | engraving on paper |
| Brief description | Death of Ananias; from a design by Raphael for the tapestries in the Sistine Chapel; engraving by Agostino Veneziano (Agostino dei Musi); Italian School; 1516. |
| Physical description | Ananias lies dying on the left of the foreground. To the right a man and woman react in horror. On a raised platform in the centre background a group of men stand, Saint Peter in the middle passing judgement on Ananias. In the background left people are carrying goods or counting money and on the right a man is handing money over to one of the men on the platform. A couple leave via steps to the right of the background. Through a square opening on the left is an archway, revealing statue, tree and two obelisks. This print is in reverse of the design from which it is derived. It differs from Raphael's cartoon in the floor and in the top left and right corners. The landscape seen through the opening of the original has here been replaced by buildings, and the staircase leads directly outside while in the original it is next to a wall with a window. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | RAPH. VRB / INVET (lower right corner) |
| Gallery label | This print is the opposite way round from the Cartoon. This is the only one of three engravings done in Raphael's lifetime by engravers in his circle, which carries his name. The squared pavement seen in the Cartoon is missing in this print and there are major differences between it and the Cartoon in the two top corners. Differences between the engravings and the Cartoons show that engravers in the sixteenth century were working from preparatory drawings, not the Cartoons themselves. Although there are differences, it is noticeable that the prints produced by engravers associated with Raphael give a much more complete idea of the overall compositions than prints produced by other printmakers later in the sixteenth century who did not have privileged access to the artist.(1995) |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by Rev. Alexander Dyce |
| Production | first state, ca. 1516 |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Literary reference | Bible, Acts, 5, verses 3 & 5 |
| Summary | This print represents the moment when Ananias is struck down and dies after lying to Saint Peter about the proportion of earnings he is giving to the Church. This print is in reverse of the Raphael's Cartoon of the same subject. The so-called Raphael Cartoons are seven full size designs for tapestries by the great Italian Renaissance artist Raphael (1483-1520). They illustrate passages from the Bible concerning the lives of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. None of them is smaller than ten feet high by thirteen feet wide. They belong to Her Majesty the Queen and have been on loan to this museum since 1865. The earliest print relating to the Raphael Cartoons dates from 1516, the year in which Raphael received final payment for the commission. It inaugurates an extraordinary case study in the history of printmaking, stretching over more than four hundred and fifty years and across a wide range of printmaking techniques. This is the only one of three engravings done in Raphael's lifetime by engravers in his circle, which carries his name. The squared pavement seen in the Cartoon is missing in this print and there are major differences between it and the Cartoon in the two top corners. Differences between the engravings and the Cartoons show that engravers in the sixteenth century were working from preparatory drawings, not the Cartoons themselves. Although there are differences, it is noticeable that the prints produced by engravers associated with Raphael give a much more complete idea of the overall compositions than prints produced by other printmakers later in the sixteenth century who did not have privileged access to the artist. |
| Associated object | ROYAL LOANS.5 (Source) |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Other number | 42 - Le Peintre-Graveur |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | DYCE.1065 |
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| Record created | June 8, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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