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.
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 The landscape seen through the opening of the original has here been replaced by buildings, and the staircase leads directly outside while in the original it is next to a wall with a window.
Place of Origin
Italy (made)
Date
ca. 1516 (made)
Artist/maker
Musi, Agostino dei, born 1485 (engraver)
Raphael, born 1483 - died 1520 (after, artist)
Materials and Techniques
engraving on paper
Marks and inscriptions
RAPH. VRB / INVET
Dimensions
Height: 24.9 cm, Width: 39.3 cm
Descriptive line
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.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
DYCE COLLECTION. A Catalogue of the Paintings, Miniatures, Drawings, Engravings, Rings and Miscellaneous Objects Bequeathed by The Reverend Alexander Dyce. London : South Kensington Museum : Printed by G.E. Eyre and W. Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1874.
The full text of the entry is as follows:
'ITALIAN SCHOOL.
...
AGOSTINO DE MUSIS, called VENEZIANO.
Born at Venice about the year 1490; worked in Florence and Rome; died at Rome in the year 1540.
...
DEATH of ANANIAS. From a design by Raffaello, for one of his well-known cartoons. B. 42. 1065'
[The letter B., and the numbers accompanying it, refer to Bartsch's Peintre-Graveur.]
Gilpin, William. An Essay Upon Prints., 1768, p. 50-51.
"Among the ancient Italian masters we cannot omit Mark Antonio and Augustin of Venice [Agostino Veneziano]. They are both celebrated; and have handed down to us many engravings from the works of Raphael: but their antiquity not their merit, seems to have recommended them. Their execution is harsh and formal to the last degree; and if their prints give us any idea of the works of Raphael, we may well wonder.. how that master got his reputation."
Bartsch, Adam von. Peintre-Graveur, 1808-1821, Vol. XIV.
Strauss, Walter L. Illustrated Bartsch, 1978-
Miller, Liz. 'From Marcantonio Raimondi to the Postcard: Prints of the Raphael Cartoons'. Display leaflet, 1995.
Includes further reading list.
Shearman, John. Raphael's Cartoons in the collection of Her Majesty the Queen and the tapestries for the Sistine Chapel. London, Phaidon, 1972.
General text about the cartoons and tapestries.
Fermor, Sharon. The Raphael Tapestry Cartoons: Narrative, Decoration, Design. London, Scala Books in association with the Victoria and Albery Museum.
General text about the cartoons and tapestries.
Exhibition History
From Marcantonio Raimondi to the Postcard: Prints of the Raphael Cartoons (Victoria & Albert Museum, Prints Gallery, Henry Cole Wing 17/09/1995-30/04/2004)
Labels and date
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]
Production Note
first state, ca. 1516
Materials
Paper; Printing ink
Techniques
Engraving (printing process)
Subjects depicted
Peter (Saint); Crowd scenes; Raphael Cartoons; Drapes; Ananias
Categories
Prints; Religion; Christianity
Collection code
PDP
