Collection Highlights: Western Art

Raphael made extensive preparatory studies for the decoration of the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican, which was his first Papal commission, the success of which determined the course of his career. The knowledge that Michelangelo was at work nearby in the Sistine Chapel must have acted as a further stimulus to the display of his abilities. This magnificent study was drawn in preparation for a detail of the School of Athens, painted c. 1509: the combat appears in a feigned marble bas-relief beneath the statue of Apollo at the left of the fresco. Raphael’s increased command of the male nude is apparent in this powerful drawing, although his emphasis on graceful movement and formal patterning is still stronger than his interest in individual anatomy and muscularity. This, like the Ashmolean's other Raphael drawings, came to Oxford from Sir Thomas Lawrence's collection, in 1845/6. [Presented by a Body of Subscribers. WA1846.193, PII 552].

The drawings by Raphael can be viewed in the Print Room.

A minimum of twenty-four hours' notice in writing or by e-mail (waprintroom@ashmus.ox.ac.uk) is required for an appointment to see the drawings by Raphael. These drawings are extremely fragile, and therefore this step is required for conservation reasons.