AMAZING ILLUSTRATED EDITION in folio by two Old Masters: Nicolas CHAPERON (1612-1656) after RAFFAELLO Sanzio or RAPHAEL (1483-1520). THIS IS THE FIRST EDITION (Rome 1649). Fully illustrated with 54 magnificent full-page copper engravings (H 455 x W 319 mm or 17.9 by 12.6 inches) by the French painter Nicolas CHAPERON, and show the frescoes created by RAPHAEL for the Vatican. Commonly referred to as "RAPHAEL'S LODGES" or "Raphael's Bible" and created by RAPHAEL and his workshop. Rare edition, no copies for sale, there are only single prints. The quality of the prints is exceptional, printed on quality and thick laid paper with chain lines, with wide original margins, intact, the illustrations are almost free from imperfections and stains. All plates are signed by N. CHAPERON - the frontispiece as designed by him, the title-plate as made by him, the numbered plates as designed by RAPHAEL and made by CHAPERON ('R.V.I. & N.C.F.'). Antique half-leather binding, solid and in good condition, with slight traces of use. Nicolas CHAPERON (1612-1656) was a French painter, draughtsman and engraver, a student in Paris of Simon Vouet (1590-1649) whose style he adopted before he was further matured by his stay in Rome (1642–51) in the studio of Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665). Many of Chaperon's paintings are in major museums like Louvre, Galleria degli Uffizi, Houston and other famous collections. This beautiful series of 17th century engravings by the French painter depicts the complete cycle of frescoes executed by RAPHAEL in the Vatican. The Vatican Lodges or Loggias narrate the entire history of the Bible (Old and New Testament). The first architect of the Logge (Lodges) was Donato Bramante (1444-1514), who initially acted at the behest of Pope Julius II (1443-1513) and then continued the work under his successor, Pope Leo X (1475-1521). Raphael took over only after Bramante's death, also taking care of the stucco and fresco decoration of the rooms of the Loggias. RAPHAEL supervised the work and provided the drawings for the scenes. RAPHAEL was simultaneously involved in the design and decoration of the Vatican Rooms and in the construction site of St. Peter's Basilica. Therefore he found himself in the position of having to put together a composite team of young talented painters who worked with the common objective of creating a vast cycle which, by the will of the Vatican, had to be presented entirely as a Raphaelesque work, which is why the artists were asked to ensure that the frescoes were as homogeneous as possible and more similar to each other. The pages are in excellent condition, there are no cuts or holes, the illustrations are intact with the original margins and drawn with great skill. Beautiful first edition. Description: in folio size H 455 x W 319 mm or 17.9 by 12.6 inches. Fully illustrated book, one illustration per sheet and each protected by tissue paper. High quality laid paper and print, plate mark around the illustrations. With 1 frontispiece with a dedication to Raphael, 1 frontispiece with a dedication to Renard and 52 beautiful intaglio plates, numbered 1-52, each is captioned with a quotation from the Bible, in Latin translation. 19th century hardback binding in half leather, with gold titles on the spine and marbled boards. Small defects and some wear on the boards, edges and spine, but all in good condition and very solid. All illustrations are well engraved with intact margins, with great contrast and definition, one of the best productions of French/Italian illustrators of the 17th century. Title: Nobilissimo viro Dno. Aegidio Renard...Sacrae Historiae acta a Raphaele Urbin in Vaticanis xystis ad picturae miraculum expressa Nicolaus Chapron, Gallus, a se delineata et incisa...(To the most noble man Mr. Egidio Renard...Sacred History written by Raphael Urbin on the Vatican terraces for the miracle of the picture expressed by Nicolaus Chaperon, a Gaul, drawn and engraved by himself...). Romae (Rome) MDCXXXXIX (1649) Petrus Mariette excudit. Publisher: In aede D. Augustini. Text in Latin. References: A.P.F. Robert-Dumesnil, Le Peintre-Graveur Français, 6 (1842), p.215-30; L. Bianchi, 'La fortuna di Raffaello nell'incisione', in M. Salmi, ed., Raffaello: l'opera, le fonte, la fortuna (1968), II, p.647-89; Sylvain Laveissière, Dominique Jacquot, Guillaume Kazerouni, Nicolas Chaperon, 1612-1654/1655. Du graveur au peintre retrouvé, édition Nîmes Musées / Actes Sud, 1999; Corentin Dury, Musées d'Orléans, Peintures françaises et italiennes, XVe – XVIIe siècles, Orléans, Musée des Beaux-Arts, 2023, n°401; Brugerolles, Emmanuelle, Le Dessin en France au XVIIe siècle dans les collections de l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, Ecole nationale supérieure des beaux-arts éditions, 2001, p. 198-202, Cat. 49, Robert-Dumesnil VI, pp.212ff (58 nos, of which 1-54 are a set of the Raphael Bible). Author: Raffaello Sanzio or RAPHAEL (1483-1520) was an Italian painter and architect, among the most famous of the Renaissance. Considered one of the greatest artists of all time and among the greatest interpreters of the aesthetic concept of Beauty, Raphael lived a relatively short but extremely prolific and profoundly innovative career for his numerous iconic works and for the way in which these were produced, making use of a highly structured workshop made up of numerous professionals of the highest level and various disciplines that the master directed and to whom he entrusted a good part of his work. Raphael's "manner" was of vital importance for the development of the artistic language of the centuries to come, both through emulation by his collaborators who carried forward his language for decades throughout Europe gathered in the school of mannerism, and by contrast through the rejection of Raphael's work initiated by Caravaggio. Added to all this is the pioneering work of study and recovery of the vestiges of Roman art, based on rigorous scientific criteria, which make him among the fathers of archeology and the protection of cultural heritage. His influence on the history of Western art is extraordinarily extensive. Having established itself as a fundamental model for all fine arts academies until the first half of the nineteenth century, the myth of Raphael reached the avant-garde of the twentieth century and the contemporary art of the twenty-first century, to the point of touching on other arts such as cinema and comics. Shipping: via UPS, protected, INSURED and fully tracked package. Estimated time for Europe 3-5 working days. Shipping within one working day. You can combine shipping if you purchases several items from us, saving money and time.