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Raphael. Saint Paul Rending His
Garments, about 1483-1520, metal point heightened with white
bodycolor on pale violet-gray prepared paper. Royal Collection ©2000 Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II |
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Among the most remarkable products of
this cooperative enterprise are the cartoons
(in this case, full-scale colored drawings used to transfer the design
to the final surface) for the series of tapestries on The Acts
of the Apostles for the Sistine Chapel.
His intention to map out their design
on paper is recorded in a number of connected sheets, among which
is his magnificent study Saint Paul Rending His Garments,
rendered with self-assurance and ecstatic energy. Such drawings
were crucial in directing his assistants in the production of the
cartoons. Only with the final and decisive corrections in the master's
hand, however, were they deemed fit to be sent to Flanders for weaving.
The production of wall paintings involved
a similar collaborative enterprise. Raphael carefully administered
each phase, from the initial composition studies to the making of
cartoons for transfer of the design to the wall. Toward the end
of his career, he encouraged his assistants to become his collaborators.
This is most evident in the decoration
of the garden loggia of Agostino Chigi's Roman villa, now known
as the Villa Farnesina. Here, though Raphael was in charge of the
underlying concept, his more mature followers participated in the
creative aspect, and hence in the making of drawings, and were almost
entirely responsible for the painting of the
frescoes.
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