The naming of Saint Peter as Head of the Church, after Raphael's Stanza dell'incendio del Borgo, from a series of 15 plates, depicting Raphael's works for the Vatican stanze and the Sistine Chapel tapestries
Original title: The naming of Saint Peter as Head of the Church, after Raphael's Stanza dell'incendio del Borgo, from a series of 15 plates, depicting Raphael's works for the Vatican stanze and the Sistine Chapel tapestries
kurzbeschreibung
Between 1650 and 1670, Pietro Santi Bartoli produced this etching of Christ appointing Peter as head of the Church, a scene that also includes the baptism. It reproduces Raphael's fresco in the Stanza dell'incendio del Borgo in the Vatican. The print belongs to a series of fifteen etchings in which Bartoli reproduced Raphael's works for the Vatican Stanze and the tapestries of the Sistine Chapel.
Description
A flock of sheep fills the foreground, and Christ stands among them with arms spread wide, revealing himself as the shepherd. To his right, Peter kneels to receive the blessing; other apostles frame the group, some with hands raised. Hills and buildings suggest a rural setting, and the action takes place under open sky. The figures are arranged in a row across the width of the sheet, which gives weight to the moment. Fine lines and graduated contrasts model light and shadow in the monochrome etching.
Context
The etching reproduces Raphael's fresco, painted around 1514–1517 in the Stanza dell'incendio del Borgo. With his fifteen-plate series, Bartoli joined a widespread seventeenth-century practice of disseminating Raphael's works through print. The subject comes from the Acts of the Apostles and served in papal iconography to legitimize the papacy. Bartoli was a Roman engraver who specialized in reproducing antiquities and paintings.
Impact
The clear linear treatment and the calm, row-like arrangement of the figures create a solemn, dignified mood. Jesus and Peter are distinctly emphasized, giving the composition a hierarchical structure while keeping the narrative clear. Because the etching dispenses with color, the arrangement and gestures of the figures come to the fore.
Technique
Etching is an intaglio process: the drawing is scratched into an acid-resistant layer on a copper plate and then bitten with acid. Bartoli worked with fine, precise lines to render figures and landscape in detail. The plate measures 10.3 × 26.4 cm, the sheet 11.6 × 28.8 cm; these dimensions suggest a careful translation of the model.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)