Early drawing by Raphael to be sold in New York

In 1503, the twenty-year-old Raphael was an independent master recognized for his skill as a draftsman.  Through Vasari we know Raphael was invited to Siena by Pinturicchio (circa 1454-1513), who had been commissioned in 1502, by Cardinal Francesco Piccolomini (1439-1503), to decorate a new library the cardinal had built beside the Duomo. The frescoes were to show events from the life of the cardinal's uncle, Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, Pope Pius II (1405-1464). It is likely that Raphael was only involved in the earlier stages of the commission, executing compositional drawings for Pinturicchio but not assisting with the actual execution of the frescoes. That would date his involvement in the project to 1502-1503.

The function and subject of this drawing have been debated. When it was sold in 1988, it was identified as a preparatory design for the Piccolomini Library, showing The Anti-Pope Felix V blessing his Sons. Although this subject did not appear in the final decorative scheme, Raphael may have provided designs for a range of episodes taken from Aeneas Silvius's autobiographical Commentaries, allowing the patron to select those that he wished to be included in the fresco cycle.

The sheet shows Raphael's draftsmanship at a moment of transition, between the legacy he inherited from his Umbrian forebears and the increasing fluidity and confidence of his artistic maturity. The formal arrangement of figures and the plasticity of forms can be linked stylistically to the Piccolomini Library modelli and to Raphael's earlier works.

Since its sale in 1988, the leading scholars of Raphael's drawings have unanimously accepted this sheet as an important addition to the young artist's oeuvre. John Shearman is recorded as having endorsed the attribution on 11 January 1989, while Konrad Oberhuber wrote to the present owner on 10 September 1990 that he was convinced it was from the hand of Raphael. Paul Joannides also confirmed his belief in the attribution in a letter to the present owner dated 24 August 1990. Tom Henry, in his recent papers, has also concurred with the attribution to Raphael and, in reassessing the evidence, explored how the drawing can be connected to the artist's activity at this date.

The drawing has been given an estimate of $1,000,000 - 1,500,000 will be offered for sale in Christie’s Renaissance Sale, New York, 30 January 2013.