This engraving is a copy after an original engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi. Marcantonio's engraving of Apollo and his muses on Mount Parnassus made Raphael's fresco, located in the private library of Pope Julius II, famous. The engraving differed from Raphael's fresco in some details, indicating that Marcantonio worked from a drawing and not from the finished fresco, which was typical of the nature of the collaboration that existed between Marcantonio and Raphael for about a decade from 1510. Marcantonio's engravings helped to spread Raphael's fame throughout Europe and collectors seem to have viewed such prints almost like original drawings. Marcantonio was one of the most sought after engravers of the period and copies were made that were almost indistinguishable from his originals.