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JOHANN MICHAEL WITTMER (1802-80)
Raphael's First Sketch of the 'Madonna della Sedia'
Signed and dated 1853RCIN 403635
According to legend, Raphael sketched his famous picture – the Madonna della Sedia – in chalk on the base of a wine barrel, thereby supposedly inventing the circular tondo format. The early lives of the great artists were popular subjects for painters as Vasari’s Lives became more widely translated in the first half of the nineteenth century.
Purchased by Prince Albert in 1853
No. 63
