Italian screen of the Loggia of Raphael in the Vatican, 19th century.

Italian folding screen of the Loggia di Raphael in the Vatican, "Loggie di Rafaele nel Vaticano".
With five panels with engravings by GIOVANNI OTTOVIANI (ca.1735-1808), ca. 1772-1776. 19th century montage.
Etchings on paper protected by glass, on wooden supports.
After the drawings of SAVORELLI and CAMPORESI, after the frescoes of RAFAEL SANZIO in the Vatican.
There is wear on the wooden frames. They are not assembled.
Measurements: 110 x 47 cm (paper); 124 x 54 cm (frame); 124 x 270 cm (total).

Italian neoclassical five-leaf folding screen, whose five panels are made up of engravings (protected by glass) made by Giovanni Ottoviani from Savorelli's drawings, which in turn reproduce the frescoes painted by Raffaello Sanzio in the Vatican, known as "The Vatican Loggia". The designs reproduce fruits, flowers, allegories of the arts and all the motifs in vogue during the Renaissance and rescued by Neoclassicism. They reproduce some of the plates of the original 16th century frescoes that adorn the pilasters, half pilasters and vaults of the Loggia, painted by Raphael on the main floor of the Pope's private apartments in the Vatican. They were engraved from 1772 to 1777 by Giovanni Ottaviani (Rome 1735-1808) after designs by the painter Gaetano Savorelli and the architect Pietro Camporesi.

In 1518, Pope Leo X commissioned Raphael for a masterpiece that remains unparalleled in decorative and architectural art history: to decorate with frescoes the walls, ceilings, vaulted arcade (loggia), arches and doors of his private apartments in the Vatican. The idea of reproducing the complete series of frescoes in etched and watercolor engravings was born around 1760, with the intention of satisfying the renewed interest of the eighteenth century for the classical themes of the Renaissance. This series of engravings has been a source of inspiration for architects and designers.

The work was commissioned from great masters of art, such as the painter Gaetano Savorelli, the draughtsman Ludovico Teseo, the architect Pietro Camporesi (famous architect who worked for Pope Clement XIII and Pius VI), and was engraved by the famous engravers Giovanni Volpato (Bassano 1740-Rome 1803) and Giovanni Ottaviani (Rome 1735-1808).

These extremely detailed and ornate watercolor engraved panels present a series of neoclassical motifs. On a creamy white background are engraved the most typical decorations of the neoclassical period. Each rectangular panel is richly decorated with motifs of fruit composition, architectural elements, grotesques, animals and leaves and flowers inserted in a linear geometric scheme. The result is a work of art so elegant and beautiful that it becomes timeless. Raffaello's Logge, in addition to their undoubted decorative value, also constitute a fundamental moment in the history of neoclassical taste at the end of the 18th century. Especially with regard to the spread of the "Grottesche" fashion, which in Roman wall decorations finds a great variety of motifs such as palmettes, garlands, urns and cornucopias. In the panels, all these architectural and decorative elements are inserted in a linear geometric scheme.

The great master engraver Giovanni Ottaviani trained with the engraver Remondini and later also had Wagner and Bartolozzi as teachers. His most famous works were commissioned from Rome and he became one of the main engravers of the "Logge di Raffaello".