Iconic Raphael self portrait under scrutiny after identical painting surfaces
By ANIFriday, January 28, 2011
WASHINGTON - Experts are flummoxed after a self-portrait of Renaissance master Raphael, similar to that on display at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, was uncovered from a bank vault.
“The two portraits are apparently identical, so it’s pretty natural to wonder which one is the real one,” Discovery News quoted Alessandro Vezzosi as saying.
Vezzosi is the author of the book ‘Raffaello Universale’, which has a mention of the new portrait.
According to historical records, it was in the possession of the Riccis, a Florentine family in 1885. Bought by writer Nicola Lisi in the 1930s, it was then attributed to Raphael by art historian Mario Salmi.
In 1984, the late art historian Gian Lorenzo Mellini published a study on the artwork, calling it a “new Raphael self-portrait.”
“The study raised a great interest in the art world. There were even plans to display the two portraits at an exhibition at the Uffizi. Unfortunately Mellini died, his discovery was forgotten, and the painting-owned by private collectors-returned to a bank vault,” Vezzosi, director of the Museo Ideale Leonardo Da Vinci, said.
“It is indeed a very fine painting, masterly done. Some details, such as the chin dimple, recall the most undisputed Raphael self portrait, the one in the The School of Athens fresco in the Vatican,” Vezzosi said.
He said that the new painting showed more intensity as compared to the other one.
“Both paintings could come from Raphael’s workshop. We know that he made or had it made by his pupils several replicas of his works,” Vezzosi said. (ANI)
