Picture of "Head of the Muses" is a preparatory sketch for the famous fresco of Raphael's "Parnassus, Stanza della Senyatura decorating the Vatican

Auction house Christie's announced that the evening auction "old masters and paintings of the XIX century, which will be held December 8, 2009 in London, will be exhibited drawing by Raphael (1483-1520)" The head of the Muses " , which is a preparatory sketch for his famous fresco of "Parnassus, Stanza della decorating Senyatura in the Vatican. "Parnassus" - one of four murals, executed by Raphael commissioned Pope Julius II around 1508-1511 years. These murals unanimously recognized as one of the masterpieces of the artist. This picture will be presented to a wider audience for the first time in 150 years, and his estimate is from 12 to 16 million pounds.

Today's dual record drawings of Old Masters is 8.1 million pounds. It was bid at Christie's in July 2000 was sold to drawing Michelangelo's "Risen Christ", and in July 2001 - pencil sketch by Leonardo da Vinci's "Horse and Rider».

Figure Raphael masterpiece not only in the forthcoming auction of Christie's. At the December auction cingulate exhibited "Portrait of a Man" by Rembrandt (1606-1669), written in 1658 (estimate 18-25 million pounds), and one of the most significant paintings in the Baroque style from all that appeared on the market in recent - "Saint John the Evangelist" brush Domenichino (1581-1641) (estimate 7-10 million pounds).

Benjamin Peronne, head of international department of the old masters and paintings of the XIX century Christie's, said: "Rafael is one of the greatest painters in history, and we are honored to stand at the bidding of his image. It allows us to take a fresh look at the process of work of genius, to trace the formation of his creative ideas. In addition to drawing "Head of the Muse" has the undoubted artistic value in itself, it has direct relevance to the creation of one of the most famous frescoes of Raphael, which has become recognized as a masterpiece. Figure preserved in excellent condition and has a distinguished provenance - his previous owners were Sir Thomas Lawrence and the King Willem II ».

Richard Knight, Head of International Department of "old masters and paintings of the XIX century» Christie's, said: "The December auction in which bidding on exposed masterpieces by Raphael, Domenichino, and Rembrandt, is a momentous event in the history of the market Old Masters of painting and draw the attention of collectors and museums around the world. Last year the Old Masters market showed stable results, and collectors have used every opportunity to become owners of works that appear on the market extremely rare ».

Raphael (1483-1520) was one of the most famous and influential artists of the High Renaissance. While living at Florence in the period from 1504 to 1508, Rafael was strongly influenced by the works of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. In 1508, Pope Julius II commissioned Raphael to make the painting room (stations) in the papal palace of the Vatican, for which the artist had to move to Rome. At the same time, the pope commissioned Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel, which has spurred competition between the artists and influenced the style of Raphael. The frescoes, executed them in the Stanza della Senyatura that Dad had planned to use as your library, unanimously recognized as the greatest works of the artist. According to Sir Joshua Reynolds, "it [Rafael] genius, designed to shine and shine as the fire could flare up and not so bright, if not a spark, passed him by Michelangelo».

One of the four frescoes in the Stanza della Senyatura is called "Parnassus. It depicts Apollo surrounded by the nine muses and poets. Figure offered for the December auction Christie's, is a cardboard image of the head muse, located to the right of the third figure of Apollo, in its actual size (30.5 to 22.2 cm). In the process of careful preparation for the creation of Raphael's fresco, finding the main track, creating a kind of stencil, through which black pastel applied to a clean sheet of paper dotted outlines of a picture. This silhouette can clearly be seen in the figure, trade, he helped the artist to create a thoroughly researched sketch, which in turn formed the basis for work on the mural. Figure allows us to trace the process in which Rafael applied over the original silhouette free, but at the same time, confident lines, ensuring flawless perfection. Picture of "Head of the Muses" allows us to take another look at the fresco itself, which was later rewritten, resulting in distorted some of its original parts.

The first mention of the figure dates from 1725, when he was included in the collection of engravings by Bernard Picard called Impostures Innocentes. While drawing belonged to the famous Dutch collector G. Uylenbreku (? -1741), Who owned one of the largest private libraries, as well as the collection of drawings by old masters. Subsequently, the figure was in the collections of Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) and future king of the Netherlands Willem II (1792-1849).

The rest of his life, Rafael held in Rome, where he worked under the patronage of Pope Julius II and his successor, Leo X, who, according to Giorgio Vasari, "bitterly mourned his death in 1520.

Source: press release Christie's