[RAPHAEL]. Second Part of Raphael's Loggias in the Vatican, containing...

[RAPHAEL]. Second Part of Raphael's Loggias in the Vatican, containing 13 vaults and their respective paintings.
Published in Rome, [Marco Pagliarini], 1776
First edition of the second series alone (of the three produced) of engravings of the Vatican Loggias.
This monumental project as a whole presents the decorations created by Raphael, Giovanni da Udine, Giulio Romano, and their collaborators in the Loggias of the Vatican Palace for Pope Leo X between 1515 and 1519.
This second part is complete and includes an engraved title page, the thirteen large plates listed, and a fourteenth supplementary plate (65 x 59 cm) depicting the interior decoration of the loggia’s doors and windows, as well as biblical scenes from the vault (twelve drawn from the Hebrew Bible, one from the Gospel), with Latin captions. In very fine, fresh condition, with minor imperfections.
Accompanying these 14 plates is a superb fold-out plan of spectacular dimensions when unfolded (50 x 189 cm), titled “Spaccato per il lungo del secondo piano della loggia nel Cortile del Palazzo Vaticano,” this plan is taken from the third and final part of the work, which details the completion of the ornamentation and ancient bas-reliefs found in the loggias; published in 1777 (this plan shows some old water stains and a few spots).
All of these magnificent plates were engraved by Giovanni Ottaviani based on drawings by Gaetano Savorelli and Pietro Camporesi (plate 10 is signed only by Ottaviani)
Bound in a very large in-piano format, with a full percaline cloth binding; minor flaws and snags. Marbled paper endpapers; title page and plates mounted on cardboard and framed with percaline borders.
A rare example of one of the most ambitious undertakings in the monumental reproduction of 18th-century Italian engravings, the *Loggie di Rafaele nel Vaticano* constitute a major milestone in the rediscovery and European dissemination of Raphael’s decorative style. Through their precision, their exceptional format, and the quality of Ottaviani’s interpretation—continued in the third part by the work of Giovanni Volpato — these plates contributed significantly to the revival of the taste for grotesques and “antique-style” ornamentation that accompanied the birth of Neoclassicism. Consultant: Alexis Baude