This website presents our knowledge and research on this important aspect of the Royal Collection. As of April 2026 it will not be regularly updated and new research on this topic will sit within the main website.

Vatican Frescoes

Vatican Frescoes

Two women with a child whose hands are joined in prayer

c.1780-1821

Etching | RCIN 852829

A facsimile of a drawing attributed to Raphael (c.1514) now in the Albertina, Vienna (inv. no.4878). Lettered with artists' names in lower corners.

The drawing is a preparatory study for the group painted in the centre foreground of Raphael's fresco of 'The Fire in the Borgo', executed in the Stanza dell'Incendio in the Vatican in c.1514. The authorship of the drawing (sometimes attributed to Penni or Giulio Romano) is subject of much debate; for a photograph of a drawing, see RCIN 852828.
  • Added to the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection (c.1853-76)