Raffaello / Chapron - Raphaele Urbino in Vaticanis - 1649

THE SECRET RAFFAELLO OF GENESIS: THE RARE “SACRAE HISTORIAE ACTA” OF NICOLAS CHAPRON
Refined and rare sixteenth-century collection of engravings drawn from Raphael’s inventions in the Vatican Loggias, kept within an elegant nineteenth-century half green leather portfolio with a gilt title on the spine “Recueil de Raphaël.” The corpus is identified by the original engraved title page of the famous suite “Sacrae Historiae Acta a Raphaele Urbino in Vaticanis Xystis ad picturae miraculum expressa,” designed and engraved by Nicolas Chapron and published in 1649 with the editorial indication “Petrus Mariette excudit.” The set includes biblical scenes from the Old Testament and Genesis, artistic allegories and rare hexagonal compositions dedicated to the days of Creation, all developed according to the Roman classical language derived from Raphael. The engravings transform the decoration of the Vatican Loggias into a sophisticated graphic repertoire destined for collectors, artists, and scholars of seventeenth-century Europe. The presence of the dated 1649 title page and the publisher Mariette places the collection in the heart of the great international market for French Baroque printing.
MARKET VALUE
The Raphael engravings by Nicolas Chapron published by Petrus Mariette are rare and highly sought after on the international antiquarian market, especially when kept in coherent groups with the original title page. A historically assembled collection identified as this one, including the original title page dated 1649 and numerous plates of the suite, can be roughly valued in a range between 1,000 and 2,000 euros, varying based on the actual number of engravings, the completeness of the series, and the overall conservation state.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Collection of engravings with nineteenth-century half green leather binding with marbled boards, gilt spine title “Recueil de Raphaël.” Small losses and patina of time. The plates, mostly etched and engraved, are mounted on ancient paper supports. Presence of biblical, allegorical, and classicist subjects: scenes from Genesis, Adam and Eve, allegorical figures, artistic celebrations, and compositions inspired by Raphael. Some engravings bear Latin inscriptions and engraved signatures. Some browning and natural foxing. In old books, with a centuries-long history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (4); 2nn; 52 plates numbered, (4).
FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Sacrae Historiae Acta a Raphaele Urbino in Vaticanis Xystis ad picturae miraculum expressa.
Romae, Petrus Mariette excudit, 1649.
Nicolaus Chapron.
CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
This collection belongs to the highest tradition of European Raphaelese fortune. The Vatican Loggias decorated by Raphael and his workshop formed one of the most celebrated figurative models of modern age, regarded as a kind of “painted Bible” of Roman Renaissance. Their scenes of the Old Testament were continually studied, copied, and translated into engraving to spread the Raphael-esque language throughout Europe. Nicolas Chapron, a French artist active in Rome, produced in 1649 one of the most elegant engraved interpretations of this monumental repertory. His plates combine archaeological precision, classical monumentality, and extreme linear refinement. The intervention of the publisher Petrus Mariette — member of the famed Parisian dynasty of publishers and print merchants — immediately placed the work in the international circuit of European collecting. Particularly extraordinary are the compositions devoted to the Creation of the World. God the Father appears suspended within strict hexagonal or cosmic geometries as He orders the primordial chaos with solemn and theatrical gestures. These images possess almost metaphysical force: the biblical narrative is transformed into a symbolic architecture of space and light. The collection is not merely a decorative ensemble of engravings, but an authentic theological and artistic atlas of Roman classicism of the seventeenth century, intended for an educated public deeply tied to antiquarian culture and the great Raphael tradition.
BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Nicolas Chapron was born in Châteaudun in 1612 and died in Paris in 1654. Painter, engraver, and interpreter of French classicism, he lived for a long time in Rome, where he studied Raphael and ancient art in depth. His engravings drawn from the Vatican Loggias and Raphael’s inventions contributed decisively to the international diffusion of the Roman classical language in French figurative culture of the seventeenth century. His works are distinguished by the elegance of line, the monumentality of figures, and the strict compositional balance.
PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The suite “Sacrae Historiae Acta” was published in 1649 and represents one of the most important cycles of French engraving derived from the Vatican Loggias. The work is part of the great European phenomenon of engraved reproduction of Raphael’s decorations, considered the absolute model for painters, engravers, and collectors. The plates were often purchased individually and later mounted into collectible portfolios like the present “Recueil de Raphaël.” The presence of publisher Petrus Mariette is particularly meaningful: the Mariette family dominated the French print market between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, turning Paris into one of the major European centers of the engraving trade.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Bartsch, Adam von, Le Peintre-Graveur, Vienna.
Le Blanc, Charles, Manuel de l’amateur d’estampes, Paris, 1854-1890.
Nagler, Georg Kaspar, Neues allgemeines Künstler-Lexicon, München.
Thieme-Becker, Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler, Leipzig.
Inventaire du Fonds Français, graveurs du XVIIe siècle.
British Museum, Department of Prints and Drawings, records for Nicolas Chapron and Petrus Mariette.
Getty Research Institute, Union List of Artist Names: Nicolas Chapron.
Benezit, Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs.
ICCU / OPAC SBN, records for “Sacrae Historiae Acta”.
WorldCat, bibliographic records for Nicolas Chapron engraved suites after Raphael.
Studies on Raphael’s Vatican Loggias and their seventeenth-century engraved transmission.