Saint Paul standing before the Proconsul, from a series of 15 plates, depicting Raphael's works for the Vatican stanze and the Sistine Chapel tapestries

Art Historical Context

This etching captures a dramatic moment from the Acts of the Apostles: Saint Paul boldly standing before the Roman Proconsul, defending his faith. Created by Pietro Santi Bartoli designs by the Renaissance master Raphael (Raffa Sanzio), it forms part of a rare series of 15 plates reproducing Raphael's monumental frescoes in the Vatican Stanze and his influential tapestry cartoons for the Sistine Chapel. Produced between 1650 and 1670 and published by Giovanni Giacomo de Rossi, these prints brought the grandeur of High Renaissance art to a wider audience during the Baroque era. Etching, with its precise lines etched into a metal plate, allowed Bartoli to faithfully translate Raphael's dynamic compositions—marked by balanced figures, expressive gestures, and classical harmony—into an intimate format (sheet: 11.6 × 28.8 cm). Raphael's original works, executed around 1515–1519, adorned Pope Leo X's chambers and inspired luxurious tapestries woven in Brussels, symbolizing the triumph of Christianity. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (gift of Harry G. Friedman, 1959), this print highlights the 17th-century passion for reproducing Raphael's legacy, bridging Renaissance innovation with emerging printmaking techniques. A testament to art's enduring power to inspire across centuries!

About the Artist

Pietro Santi Bartoli|Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi)|Giovanni Giacomo De Rossi · 1615–1700

Pietro Santi Bartoli, born in Perugia in 1635, emerged as a pivotal figure in the Roman antiquarian revival of the late seventeenth century. Relocating to Rome as a youth, he initially pursued painting, studying under the French artist Jean Lemaire—known as "Le Petit Lemaire"—and later under the esteemed Nicolas Poussin, whose classical rigor profoundly shaped his early approach. Though traces of ...