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The Death of Ananias

Print
1778 (printed), 1780 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This image represents the moment when Ananias is struck down and dies after lying to Saint Peter about the proportion of money he is donating to the Church.

The so-called Raphael Cartoons, which this print reproduces, 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 print is in reverse of the cartoon and therefore in the same direction as the tapestry.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • The Death of Ananias (popular title)
  • Raphael Cartoons (generic title)
Materials and techniques
etching on paper
Brief description
Etching by L. Sommerau after a cartoon by Raphael.The Death of Ananias. Italian, printed in Rome, 1778.
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; over the staircase is a window through which an onlooker watches the scene. Through a square opening on the left is a landscape with tree. The image is surrouned by a simple border.

This scene is in reverse of the cartoon from which it is derived and is faithful in compositional detail except that the image is slightly taller and the top of the drape and the figures climbing the stairs are therefore more visible.
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 27.6cm
  • Sheet width: 40.7cm
  • Platemark height: 27cm
  • Platemark width: 40.2cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • Raphael Sanctius pinx (Lower left)
  • L. Sommerau sculp. Roma 1778. (Lower right)
  • ANANIAS CORRUVIT EX ANIMIS (Title lower margin, centred)
Subjects depicted
Literary referenceBible, Acts, 5, verses 3 & 5
Summary
This image represents the moment when Ananias is struck down and dies after lying to Saint Peter about the proportion of money he is donating to the Church.

The so-called Raphael Cartoons, which this print reproduces, 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 print is in reverse of the cartoon and therefore in the same direction as the tapestry.
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • Shearman, John. Raphael's Cartoons in the collection of Her Majesty the Queen and the tapestries for the Sistine Chapel. London, Phaidon, 1972.
  • Fermor, Sharon. The Raphael Tapestry Cartoons: Narrative, Decoration, Design. London, Scala Books in association with the Victoria and Albery Museum.
  • Vol. III, p. 565 Le Blanc, Charles. Manuel de l'Amateur d'Estampes. Paris, 1854-6.
  • Sommerau, Louis. Les celèbres tapisseries de Raphaël d'Urbin, connües sous le nom d'Arrazi, qui sont au Vatican à Rome, au nombre de vingt pièces gravées. Rome, 1780.
Collection
Accession number
E.707D-1888

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
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