Dorotheum, the oldest auction house in the world, is offering a rediscovered drawing by Raffaello Sanzio, commonly known as Raphael, for sale in the Old Masters Auction on 25th October 2023. The sketch, depicting a horse and rider, is an important preparatory study for one of the frescoes of the Stanze, collectively known as the ‘Raphael Rooms’, a key achievement of art history in the 16th century.
Mark MacDonnell, Dorotheum’s Old Master specialist, commented: “Compositional and stylistic details confirm that this is a preparatory study by Raphael for the celebrated fresco… It has an energy, a verve, a movement, and a quality which make this sheet an outstanding rarity.”
The drawing is one of only three surviving drawings for the fresco by the master’s hand, the other two being in the Louvre and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. It had previously been attributed to Rubens, however through comparative analysis of technique and composition, it has been recognised to be Raphael’s own work.
Raphael did not live to see the completion of the fresco as he died in 1520, and his pupil Giulio Romano took over the final painting. An auction result in excess of a million euros is expected.
More information can be found on https://www.dorotheum.com/en/p/dorotheum-presents-a-rediscovered-raphael-drawing/, and a video can be viewed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGUTqbIkiqs.
Dorotheum is the world’s oldest auction house and offers a wide range of works of art, antiques, design and jewellery. Founded in 1707, the company has been family-owned for more than 200 years and today is one of the leading international auction houses in Europe.
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