Antique Print Mercury Descending to Earth Made After a Fresco by Raphael, 1693

€ 2 500

Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)

Date: 1693
Sheet size: 46 × 72.5 cm (18.1 × 28.5 in)
Condition: Good
Reference: BG-12302

What the condition grades mean

Excellent: Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good: Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good: Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair: Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.

Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.

Condition

Few tiny tears in the margins, minor wear. Blank verso. Please review the images for further condition details.

About this sheet

Antique print titled 'Mercurius uocalis Deus ex Louis mandato Deos omnes ad concionem conuocat de Cupidinis ac Psyches coniugio sententiam laturi'. Mercury descending to earth can be seen in a red waving coat. Garlands with flowers and fruits frame the picture. Winged figures, a lion and birds are to the right and left of Mercury. Above a wall ledge are two arched windows framed by garlands.

This print originates from a series of twelve plates engraved by Nicolas Dorigny after a fresco by Raphael which can be found in Villa Farnesina. The Villa Farnesina is a Renaissance suburban villa in the Via della Lungara, in the district of Trastevere in Rome, central Italy. The villa was built for Agostino Chigi, a rich Sienese banker and the treasurer of Pope Julius II. Chigi also commissioned the fresco decoration of the villa by artists such as Raphael, Sebastiano del Piombo, Giulio Romano, and Il Sodoma. The themes were inspired by the Stanze of the poet Angelo Poliziano, a key member of the circle of Lorenzo de Medici. Best known are Raphael's frescoes on the ground floor; in the loggia depicting the classical and secular myths of Cupid and Psyche, and The Triumph of Galatea.