1 Raphael:
Study for the figure of Saint Jerome in ‘The Virgin and Child between Saint Jerome and Saint Francis’
c. 1502
Black chalk and black ink
15.1 x 10.9 cm
Pl. 488, Cat. 1, p. 36, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
One year after the “Expérience Raphaël” exhibition at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille, we remember the extraordinary presentation of the Renaissance master’s timeless sketches and drawings, which delighted us.
The exhibition was based on the collection of Raphael’s (1483-1520) drawings, which were donated to the city of Lille by the renowned restaurateur and art collector, Jean-Baptiste Wicar (1762-1834).
The exhibition also included works by Raphael and his contemporaries from other collections, in collaboration with institutions such as the city of Città di Castello, Pinacoteca comunale, National Gallery Londres, The Royal Collection Trust Londres, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza Madrid, Établissement public du musée d’Orsay et du musée de l’Orangerie, musée du Louvre Paris, Galleria Nazionale delli’Umbria Pérouse, musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, musée Flaubert et d’Histoire de la médicine, musée national des châteaux de Malmaison et Bois-Préau Rueil Malmaison, musée national des châteaux d Versailles et de Trianon Versailles. Over a hundred outstanding specialists in the fields of museology, art history, and conservation supported these exhibitions in terms of content.
It is important to note that the French-language exhibition catalogue was prepared with great care and attention to detail. It contains texts written by conservators who worked on the conservation and restoration of individual Raphael works. Texts on stages of Raphael’s life and work, such as Perugia, Florence, and Rome, as well as his collaborations with Domenico Alfani and his own collaborators, are interspersed with analyses of his paintings and studies of his drawing technique and conservation methods. No line in this collection of drawings escapes the attention of specialists.
The catalogue begins with a text about the founder of the collection, Jean-Baptiste Wicar. A nobleman born in Lille, Wicar devoted himself to the conservation of French and Italian art after completing his studies in fine arts.
According to the catalogue: ‘In 1793, he became a conservator of monuments at the Central Museum of Art (the Louvre). In 1797, he became a member of the Commission of Sciences and Arts, which was responsible for requisitioning works of art for the museum during Bonaparte’s campaign across the Italian peninsula. He settled in Rome in 1801 and became one of the most highly regarded portrait painters. In 1814, he demanded the return of confiscated works. He was elected a member of the Academy of St. Luke in 1805 and became a censor in 1811. From 1806 to 1809, he served as director of the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples. In 1823, he joined the Virtuosi al Pantheon congregation.
Wicar died in Rome in 1834. Shortly before his death, in 1805, he resumed his collaboration with the Society of Sciences, Agriculture, and Arts in Lille. In 1832, he hosted one of its members, the painter Édouard Liénard (1779–1848), in Rome.
Wicar decided to donate his collection of drawings to this institution. The collection consists of approximately 1,300 sheets by Italian, German, and French artists from the 13th to 18th centuries. The legacy included several small antique and contemporary sculptures, the painting ‘The Raising of the Son of the Widow of Nain’, ‘The Feast of Herod’ by Donatello (1386–1466), and the famous ‘Wax Head’. The collection of drawings Wicar left in Lille is his third. His first collection was stolen. He assembled a second collection, which he sold in 1823 to English merchant Samuel Woodburn (1783–1853) to finance the purchase of Wicar’s studio in Rome. Wicar managed to collect Raphael’s drawings, including the sheets remaining after the “dispersion” of his first collection. He eventually received these drawings from Antonio Fendi (1771-1843), the man to whom he had entrusted them twenty-five years earlier.
Giuseppe Carattoli (1783-1850) was the executor of the testament and a friend of him. An inventory of his final collection was created, but the document has been lost. Some of the drawings donated to Lille were placed in albums by Wicar; one of these albums, like the others, is unknown to us. Some of the drawings have gold frames or traces of such frames. One drawing likely comes from the Della Penna Collection (inv. Pl. 458). Another comes from Perugia. A third comes from a man named Laurent Blanchard. Hopefully, new research in the Perugia archives will shed light on this mystery. Currently, thirty-seven drawings are considered works by Raphael, while two or three are the subject of discussion’[1].
At the exhibition, housed in the intimate basement of the Lille museum, Raphael’s drawings and sketches for his frescoes and oil paintings played a central role in the presentation. In several cases, reproductions of the paintings to which they referred accompanied them. The exhibition also featured works from the Renaissance period, as well as portraits of Raphael by other painters and sculptures depicting him. One striking aspect of the exhibition was the varying condition of the master’s sketches. Some of the drawings were made on paper so delicate and thin that they were almost transparent and could only be read upon closer inspection. The lines, masterfully drawn with a pencil or chalk along the spolvero, were so blurred in some places that they were barely visible. These works were displayed between two thick panes of glass so they could be viewed from all sides.
This article uses photographs that I took during the exhibition. For technical reasons, the photos have been cropped and are presented without passe-partouts. The descriptions of the photographs are based on the catalogue. The article provides the catalogue number of each piece, as well as the page number in the catalogue where the image was published.
2 Raphael:
Study for ‘Madonna and Child with a Book’, also known as the ‘Norton Simon Madonna’
c. 1502–1503
Lead and silverpoint on white prepared paper.
Annotation in brown ink pen in the lower right corner: ’57’.
26.2 x 19 cm
Pl. 442 (recto of Pl. 443), Cat. 19, p. 64, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
3 Raphael:
‘Head of a Man Facing Forward Wearing a Turban’
c. 1504
Metal points on grey prepared paper with gold dots, probably from an old mount.
Annotation at the top centre in pen and brown ink: ‘Illegible 3’?
12.8 x 10.4 cm
Pl. 429, Cat. 27, p. 78, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
4 Raphael:
Study of the Head and Hands of Saint Thomas in ‘The Coronation of the Virgin’ (Pala degli Oddi),
c. 1502–1503
Metallic points on grey prepared paper.
26.9 x 19.8 cm
Pl. 440 (recto of Pl. 441), Cat. 14, p. 57, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
5 Raphael:
Study for ‘The Holy Family with a Pomegranate’ (Sainte Famille Alfani)
c. 1507–1508
Lead pencil, pen and brown ink. Squared with lead pencil and red chalk. Mounting holes and gilt mounting strips.
Provenance: Laurent Blanchard; Della Penna Collection, Perugia
36.9 x 24.8 cm
Pl. 458 (recto of Pl. 459), Cat. 34, p. 91, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
6 Raphael:
‘Head of a Young Man Wearing a Barrette’
c. 1503
Black chalk and white gouache.
21.3 x 18.7 cm
Pl. 461, Cat. 21, p. 75, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
7 Raphael:
Study of a Cherub for the Fresco ‘The Dispute of the Holy Sacrament’
c. 1510
Compass and black chalk. Partially squared with a stylus and black chalk. Reference holes.
23.6 x 17.3 cm
Pl. 432, Cat. 50, p. 121, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
8 Raphael
Study of the Head of Saint Andrew in ‘The Coronation of the Virgin’ (Pala degli Oddi).
c. 1502–1503.
Black chalk and spolvero on watermarked paper.
22.2 x 19.4 cm.
Pl. 470, Cat. 18, p. 60, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
9 Raphael
Study for ‘The Madonna of Alba’
c. 1511–1512
Intaglio and red chalk
42.5 x 27.6 cm
PL. 457 (on the reverse of Pl. 456), Cat. 45, p. 111, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
10 Raphael
Study of a head turned to the left and looking upwards.
c. 1504
Metal points on greenish prepared paper.
Annotated at the top centre in pen and brown ink: ’32’.
12.1 x 9.9 cm
PL. 435, Cat. 28, p. 80, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
11 Raphael
Study for ‘La Madonna Terranuova’
c. 1504
Graphite, pen and brown ink on assembled sheets of paper.
16.7 x 15.9 cm
Pl. 431, Cat. 35, p. 98, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
12 Raphael
‘Child seated with a Bird’
c. 1501–1502
Metal points on grey prepared paper, pen and brown ink.
10.3 x 7.6 cm
Pl. 480, Cat. 20, p. 65, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
13 Raphael
Study of the figures in the fresco ‘The Dispute of the Holy Sacrament’.
c. 1510
Lead pencil and pen in brown ink on watermarked paper, with traces of gold from a previous mounting.
28.7 x 21.2 cm
Pl. 447 (recto of Pl. 448), Cat. 49, p. 120, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
14 Raphael
Studies of feet for the character of Horace in the ‘Parnassus’ fresco.
c. 1510–1511
Lead pencil and pen in brown ink. Mounted with gold bands and brown ink lines.
(The photo in this article is cropped.)
34.5 x 24.8 cm
Pl. 446 (on the back of Pl. 445), Cat. 54, p. 126, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
15 Raphael
Study for the figure of Apollo in the ‘Parnassus’ fresco.
Circa 1510-1511.
Intaglio marks, lead point, pen and brown ink, traces of an old gold mount.
34.7 x 24 cm
Pl. 452 (recto of Pl. 453), Cat. 55, p. 127, Photo: Joanna Weber (c).
16 Raphael
Study of the drapery of Christ in the fresco ‘The Dispute of the Holy Sacrament’.
c. 1510.
Compass marks, lead pencil, brown wash, white gouache, and a black chalk grid on watermarked paper. Mounted with gold bands. (The photo in this article is cropped.)
41.6 x 27.3 cm
Pl. 471 (recto of Pl. 472), Cat. 51, p. 123, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
17 Raphael
Studies for the drapery of Homer in the fresco “Parnassus.”
c. 1510-1511
Lead pencil and pen in brown ink. Mounted with gold bands and brown ink lines
(the photo in this article is cropped).
34.5 x 24.8 cm
Pl. 445 (recto of Pl. 446), Cat. 53, p. 126, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
18 Raphael
Study of an Angel for the Medallion of Theology in the Ceiling of the ‘Chamber of the Signature’
c. 1509-1510
Compass and black chalk.
23.3 x 16 cm
Pl. 433 recto, Cat. 57, p. 130, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
19 Raphael
Two studies of men and a lion’s head.
c. 1512
Lead pencil, pen, and brown ink.
18.4 x 20.3 cm
Pl. 493 recto, Cat. 59, p. 133, Photo: Joanna Weber ©
20 Raphael
Study of a foot (on the other side of drawing no. 59)
c. 1510-1512
Pencil, pen and brown ink
18.4 x 20.3 cm
Pl. 493, Cat. 58, p. 132, Photo: Joanna Weber (c)
21 Raphael’s workshop
‘Head of the Virgin’, known as ‘La Perla’
c. 1518
Charcoal, white chalk on cardboard paper, and stylus
28.9 x 21.5 cm
Pl. 487, Cat. 64, p. 141, Photo: Joanna Weber (c)
22 Anonymous, 16th century
‘Saint Sebastian and geometric figure’
1502–1504
Black chalk on watermarked paper
28.7 x 20 cm
Pl. 193 verso, Cat. 5, p. 40, Photo: Joanna Weber (c)
23 Jean Jacques Feuchère
Raphael
1834
White marble
100 x 50 x 40 cm, Cat. 76, p. 157
Rouen, musèe des Beaux-Arts, inv. TD.S.1838.1 ©
Photo: Joanna Weber ©
24 Albert Ernest Carrier-Belleuse
Raphael
1855
Bronze
53,5 x 18,5 x 15,5 cm
Cat. 75, p. 157
Paris, musèe d’Orsay, inv. ChB 202 ©
Photo: Joanna Weber ©
25 Raphael
‘Self-Portrait with a Friend’ (Giulio Romano)
Circa 1519
Oil on canvas
99 x 83 cm
Paris, musèe du Louvre, inv. 614 (c)
Photo: Joanna Weber (c)
26 People waiting in line to enter the exhibition, February 2025
Photo: Joanna Weber ©
27 Exhibition interiors
Photo: Joanna Weber ©
[1] Cordélia Hattori, 2025. ‘Jean-Baptiste Wicar’. In: Expérience Raphaël. Exhibition Catalogue from the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille. GrandPalais RmnÉditions, pp. 16-17. French to English translation by Joanna Weber.