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Drawings as Tools of Communication

Raphael's success as an independent artist within papal Rome resulted from a flurry of commissions for monumental paintings. He employed a group of assistants and established a system that allowed him to cope with the growing and often simultaneous demands of challenging projects. Drawings became his ultimate method of control.


Raphael. Massacre of the Innocents. Royal Collection, Copyright 2000 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Raphael. Massacre of the Innocents, about 1510, charcoal pounce-marks, stylus and black-chalk underdrawing, red chalk. Royal Collection ©2000 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II