The early work of Raphael . y art. And since his father was a veryexcellent man and dear to me, and the son is a discreet and gentle youth,I am very fond of him, and wish him to attain to perfection. I there-fore recommend him most earnestly to your lordship, and beg you, for mysake, to give him your help and favour on every occasion, and whateverservices and kindness your lordship may show him, I shall consider asrendered to myself, and shall esteem this to be the greatest favour on thepart of your lordship, to whom I now commend myself. Giovanna Felicia Feltria della Rovere, Duchessa di Sora
The early work of Raphael . y art. And since his father was a veryexcellent man and dear to me, and the son is a discreet and gentle youth,I am very fond of him, and wish him to attain to perfection. I there-fore recommend him most earnestly to your lordship, and beg you, for mysake, to give him your help and favour on every occasion, and whateverservices and kindness your lordship may show him, I shall consider asrendered to myself, and shall esteem this to be the greatest favour on thepart of your lordship, to whom I now commend myself. Giovanna Felicia Feltria della Rovere, Duchessa di Sora, Prefetessa di Roma. Urbino, i Oct. 1504. The genuineness of this letter has been disputed by some writersbecause Bottari, who first published it in the last century, gave a mistaken THE EARLY WORK OF RAPHAEL 39 reading of the MS., which made it appear that Giovanni Santi was alivewhen the letter was written. But, as the last editor of Vasari, ProfessorMilanesi, has pointed out, the word which Bottari gives as so (i7 padre. Madonna. From a Drawing by Raphael. In the Malcolm Collection. suo) was no doubt fo, the Umbrian form of fit (was), and the sentencein which Giovanna speaks of Raphaels father, is in the past and not inthe present tense. The actual MS. belonged to a valuable Florentine 4o THE EARLY WORK OF RAPHAEL collection of autograph letters, including several from Pier Soderini himselfand the Medici, which were put up to auction at a sale in Paris, inJanuary 1856. On this occasion Giovanna della Roveres letter wassold for two hundred francs, and the contents were fully described in thecatalogue of the auction at the Salle Sylvestre. The present owner ofthe letter is unknown, but there seems no sufficient reason for disputingthe authenticity of a document which agrees with both the date ofRaphaels first visit to Florence, and with those frequent allusions to theducal family, and more especially to Giovanna della Rovere and her son,that we find in the painters own letter
Size: 1370px × 1825px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookde, booksubjectraphael14831520, bookyear1895
