Italian Neoclassical Architectural Etched Engravings Six Panels Folding Screen

This Italian 18th century Neoclassical period folding screen consists of six panels with antiques etched and engraved copper plates on paper reproducing the frecoes painted by Raffaello Sanzio in the Vatican, known as ' The Vatican Loggia'.
Each engraving - boasting a fantastic variety of black and grayscales - is applied to paper and set in frame flanked by a sage green fabric. At the bottom each panel is finished with an ink painted cartouche, completing the screen like a faux paneled boiserie. The designs reproduce fruit, flowers, allegories of the arts and all the patterns in vogue during neoclassicism. The screen is finished verso with a cotton lined canvas.
The six copperplate engravings on paper reproduce the plates III, VII , VIII, X, XI and XII of the original 16th century frescoes that adorn the pilasters, half-pilasters and the vaults of the Loggia. They were engraved from 1772 to 1777 by Giovanni Ottaviani (Rome 1735-1808) after the designs of the painter Gaetano Savorelli and of the architect Pietro Camporesi , date back to neoclassical period with a formal sense of the Renaissance style.
Paneled screens were first used at the end of the 16th century as ways to block drafts or offer protection from prying eyes. They can also be used to divide rooms, but a piece such as this will make its biggest impact hung on a wall as a piece of art.
These engravings are the plates III, VII , VIII, X,XI, XII of the original 16th century frescoes painted by Raffaello on the main storey of Pope’s private apartments in Vatican.

In 1518 Pope Leo X commissioned Raphael for a master work that remains unparalleled in artistic decorative and architectural history: to decorate with frescoes the walls, ceilings, vaulted arcade(loggia), arches and doors of his private apartments of the Vatican. The idea of creating a work divided into three parts that reproduced, in "imperial" sheets engraved and colored with the watercolor, the complete series of all the original painted decorations of the Vatican Loggias of Raphael was born around 1760. The work begun in 1772 and ended in 1777, it was undertaken to satisfy the renewed 18th century interested in the classical themes found in the Renaissance and this series of prints has been a source for architects and designers. The work was commissioned to great masters of art, such as the painter Gaetano Savorelli, the draftsman Ludovico Teseo, the architect Pietro Camporesi, and was engraved by the famous engravers Giovanni Volpato (Bassano 1740-Rome 1803) and Giovanni Ottaviani (Rome 1735-1808).
Our engravings and painted paper panels are engraved by Giovanni Ottaviani (Rome 1735-1808) after the designs of the painter Gaetano Savorelli and of the architect Pietro Camporesi, this famous architect worked for Pope Clemens XIII and Pius VI, that's why our panels are enriched by the handwriting: “cum privilegio ss. D.N. Clementis XIII” These extremely detailed ornate fancies watercolor engraved panels feature a series of neoclassical patterns. On a cream white background all the most typical decorations of the neoclassical period are engraved. Each rectangular panel is richly decorated with fruit composition, architectural elements, grotesque, animals and leaves and flowers patterns inserted in a linear geometric scheme. Both the designs and the colors are perfectly mixed and the final result is a work of art so elegant and beautiful that can fit with any kind of furnishing, ready to be used as a chich room divider or hang on the walls of your home.
The Logge of Raffaello, in addition to their undoubted decorative value, also constitute a fundamental moment in the history of the neoclassical taste of the late 18th century. Particularly as regards the diffusion of the fashion of the "Grottesche", which in Roman wall decorations find a great variety of motifs such as palmettes, garlands, urns and cornucopia. In our engravings all these architectural and decorative elements are inserted in a linear geometric scheme. The incisions of Raphael's lodges present in the Vatican apartments thus offering a final effect of lightness and spontaneity even if each single element is in fact closely linked to a rationally ordered structure. The great master engraver Giovanni Ottaviani received his first lessons from his mother, his work was so much appreciated that he soon worked with the engraver Remondini and later he also had Wagner and Bartolozzi as masters. from Rome he was commissioned his most famous works, so as to be one of the main engravers of the very famous "Logge di Raffaello".
Measures: H. 171 cm, W. 360 cm (60 cm each panel), D. 3 cm.