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The Healing of the Lame Man

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

The subject of this print is the Healing of the Lame Man by Saints Peter and John. The event took place at the Temple of Jerusalem at a gate known as the Beautiful Gate, which led to the entry into the Women's Court, where Israelite men and women could make offerings for the upkeep of the Temple. The man was begging for alms but Peter and John instead gave him the gift of being able to walk. The spiral columns shown in this image were modelled on those of the tomb of St Peter in St Peter's Basilica.

This print is in reverse of the cartoon from which it is derived. 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.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • The Healing of the Lame Man (popular title)
  • Raphael Cartoons (generic title)
  • St. Peter and St. John Healing the Lame Man (popular title)
Materials and techniques
etching on paper
Brief description
Etching by L. Sommerau after a cartoon by Raphael. The Healing of the Lame Man. Italian, printed in Rome, 1778.
Physical description
The subject is the Healing of the Lame Man by Saints Peter and John at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple of Jerusalem.

Scene showing a covered walkway of rows of spiral columns decorated with acanthus and putti climbing amongst foliage. A crowd waiting in the walkway watches as Peter and John help a lame man, sitting cross-legged in the centre foreground, to stand up. Another man with staff kneels nearby to the left. In the crowd to the right are two young children, one carrying two birds, a woman holding a baby and a woman carrying a basket of good, probably as a temple offering. 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.
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 27.6cm
  • Sheet width: 40.5cm
  • Platemark height: 27cm
  • Platemark width: 40cm
Content description
Beautiful Gate of the Temple of Jerusalem
Marks and inscriptions
  • Raphael Sanctius Pinx. (Lower left)
  • L. Sommerau scul. Roma 1778. (Lower right)
  • PETRVS CVM IOANNE CLAVDUM A MATRIS VTERO SANAT (Title lower margin, centred)
Object history
NB. While the term ‘lame’ has been used in this record, it has since fallen from usage and is now considered offensive. The term is repeated in this record in its original historical context.
Subjects depicted
Literary referenceBible, Acts, 3
Summary
The subject of this print is the Healing of the Lame Man by Saints Peter and John. The event took place at the Temple of Jerusalem at a gate known as the Beautiful Gate, which led to the entry into the Women's Court, where Israelite men and women could make offerings for the upkeep of the Temple. The man was begging for alms but Peter and John instead gave him the gift of being able to walk. The spiral columns shown in this image were modelled on those of the tomb of St Peter in St Peter's Basilica.

This print is in reverse of the cartoon from which it is derived. 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.
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.707C-1888

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
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