Set of two lithographic prints comprising:
lithographic print of painting by Raphael entitled St. Paul Preaching at Athens (Detail), originally painted c.1516
A section of his large Cartoons which were thought lost and later rediscovered at Genoa in 1623, Charles I instructed Sir Francis Crane, manager of the tapestry factory at Mortlake, London to purchase the Cartoons for £300.The original Cartoons are painted on paper in sized colours; the under-drawing is in charcoal and much of it is still visible. Seven of the Cartoons survive from the series of ten commissioned by Pope Leo X to serve as designs for tapestries which were to be woven in Flanders and hung in the Sistine Chapel. The tapestries illustrate the lives of St. Peter and St. Paul.
Print size inches: 8.9 x 6.5 together with lithographic print of drawing by Leonardo da Vinci entitled A Deluge or Cloudburst, originally drawn c.1517-18
Acquired by Charles II, King England (1630-85). Bequeathed to Francesco Melzi; purchased by Pompeo Leoni, c.1582-90; Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel by 1630 and finally resting with The Royal Collection by 1690.Pen and black ink with wash. Probably executed during the last couple of years of Leonardo's life, the cataclysmic storm became one of Leonardo's favourite themes both in his drawings and writings. His dramatic execution of The Deluge illustrates his fascination of the destructive force of wind and water on the landscape. The inscription, all but hidden among the clouds at the top, demonstrates his scientific approach of understanding. It reads; 'Of rain. You will show the degrees of falling rain at various distances and of varying degrees of obscurity, and let the darkest part be closest to the middle of its thickness'.
Print size inches: 8.2 x 6.5