Pilaster Num. VI. After Raffaello Sanzio d’Urbino better known as “Rafael” (1483 - 1520). Engraved Plates with Hand Color. Copied From the Loggia di Rafaele Nel Vaticano in Rome. Rome: 1772 - 1777. Each Approximately 53 1/4 x 18 1/2 inches. Having completed the magnificent Stanzia (four private rooms) for Pope Julius II at the Vatican, his successor Pope Leo X commissioned Rafael to decorate the Loggia: “For generations of artists, the Loggia was the supreme model of inspiration. It was an art school for all of Europe, and enjoyed immense success. In Saint Petersburg, at the end of the eighteenth century, Catherine of Russia had full-sized reproductions of them made and placed in the immense Hermitage museum… Some of the best artists of the time worked together on the Loggia, a little bit like the construction of the cathedrals, but all of it was done under the direction of Raphael. The biblical scenes are set inside a decorative border of stucco and frescoes inspired by Roman art, mainly by the Domus Aurea and the Colosseum, in a bustle of flowers, fruit, and birds in vibrant colors, against a bright blue sky” (Sandro Magister reviewing Dacos The Loggia of Raphael: A Vatican Art Treasure). BAL RIBA 2710; Berlin Katalog 4068.