Apollo on Parnassus

c. 1517–20

after Raphael

(Italian, 1483–1520)

Culture

Italy, 16th century

Medium

engraving

Support

Laid paper

Measurements

Sheet: 35.5 x 46.9 cm (14 x 18 7/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1963.231

Catalogue raisonné

Bartsch 247 ( XIV.200) ; Delaborde 110

State

before described state

Impression

working proof

You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Location

101A Prints & Drawings

Description

Around 1510, the influential painter Raphael began collaborating with the engraver Raimondi to translate his designs into prints, which allowed his works to reach an international audience. This engraving replicates Raphael’s design for a fresco he painted in the personal apartments of Pope Julius II (1443–1513), showing that devotion to classical ideas reached even the highest levels of religious authority. In addition to Apollo and his muses, Raphael portrayed some of history’s most celebrated poets on the Greek mountain Parnassus. On the left, next to a seated scribe, the ancient Greek poet Homer stands between the Latin poet Virgil (Roman, 70–19 BC) and the late medieval author Dante (Italian, about 1265–1321).