Figure Drawing

The School of Raphael

2025-07-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

The School of Raphael

or The Student's Guide to
Expression in Historical Painting

by Nicholas Dorigny
with commentary by Benjamin Ralph

THE SCHOOL OF RAPHAEL

This book was the published to demonstrate the range of human expression. This was a popular study in the eighteenth century. In the seventeenth century Charles LeBrun published his Methode pour apprendre a dessiner les passions. This was becoming outdated because of the new interest in classicism. Benjamin Ralph published this book which was based on tracings, and drawings of Nicholas Dorigny and the engravings made of them by a number of accomplished French engravers working under his direction of the famous cartons that Raphael made to be manufactured into tapestries for the Sistine Chapel.

Dorigny was chosen to produce engravings of the cartoons which were in the possession of the King of England because of his fame in reproducing the works of Raphael in Rome. An example is shown above, The Marriage of Cupid and Psyche, after Raphael da Urbino.

The original book is an oversized book with a total of 90 large prints. half of them are fully rendered, shaded engravings, the other half are engravings of the original tracings and drawings showing where shadows and high lights will be placed.

For this edition I have divided the prints in half when scanning them and placed them on opposite pages so they can be reproduced full size and as closely as possible to their original appearance.

This edition is scanned from a second edition which included not only the outline drawings, but also some lessons in drawing, how to draw the head, how to draw the features of the head, how to draw hands and feet, and legs and arms, plus anatomy, and excamples of classic sculpture. All of these engravings are included as well.

The modern artist will not only enjoy the beautifully executed engravings, but will learn a lot about drawing the human face because these works were Raphael's finest. The cartoons were made in a relatively short time in his studio but students of the work say that the faces are undoubtedly Raphael's own. Raphael knew that he was in a kind of competition with Michelangelo, and that the tapestries would be exhibited with Michelangelo's famous ceiling of he Sistine Chapel.

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations Page 6
Introduction to this Edition Page 9
Introduction by Benjamin Ralph Page 17
Observations on the Art of Designing or Drawing Page 19
Outline and Relief Page 20
The Measures of a Human Body Page 22
Proportional Relationship of Objects Page 24
The Knowledge of Anatomy Page 25
Rules for Designing of Draperies Page 27
Study of Geometrical Figures Page 29
Description of the Cartoons of Raphael Urbin Page 34
Index of Expression of Passion Page 50
The Plates of the Heads Page 53
Bibliography of Books in Benjamin Ralph's Essays Page 246

See below for a list of Illutrations

From my Introduction

The School of Raphael, or the Student's Guide to Expression in Historical Painting by Nicholas Dorigny with commentary by Benjamin Ralph might be the most beautiful art instruction book ever published. Admiration for the beauty and skill of Raphael's drawing was certainly the reason to make the prints, and though Mr. Ralph acknowledges the beauty of the engravings and the drawings they were based on, that was not his only reason for making the book.

Jennifer Montagu in her book, argues that while the art world was influenced by Charles LeBrun's Méthode pour Apprende à Dessiner les Passions, it increasingly criticised his work as mannered. Styles of art were undergoing a change and the new taste admired neo-classic ideals. The study of expression continued to be regarded as a primary component of art education so a new source of examples was sought.

Benjamin Ralph turned to Raphael Sanzio d'Urbino (1483-1520) as a source and used the prints made from tracings and drawings by Nicholas Dorigny of Raphael's cartoons which were commissioned by Pope Leo X for tapestries for the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Palace. The tapestries still hang on special occasions beneath Michaelangelo's famous ceiling. The cartoons were greatly admired in the 18th century because they were original works from his studio and reproductions of them were available in prints. Raphael completed ten cartoons of an original order for sixteen. Only seven survive. The cartoons were completed in 1516 and sent off to be rendered as tapestries. About 1630 Peter Paul Rubens informed Charles I of the cartoons and they were acquired at considerable espense. The cartoons are now at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

The majority of the cartoons were in the Netherlands "but in 1630, through the mediation of Rubens, they were sold to England, where they were regarded as Raphael's most valuable creations.

Jonathon Richardson published his Essay on the Theory of Painting around this time also. He called the cartoons "the greatest achievement of the Roman School."

Nicholas Dorigny (1658-1746) was from a famous French artistic family. He was trained by his father Michael and worked mainly as an engraver. He continued his studies in Rome and stayed there 28 years where he made his name making engravings of Italian works of art especially the works of Raphael (whose reputation rivaled Michaelangelo's among art enthusiasts of the time) including a well received portfolio of prints of Raphael's frescoes of the Wedding of Psyche and Cupid in the Villa Farnesina in Rome. In Rome he became know to "several Englishmen of rank, who persuaded him to come to England, and engrave the cartoons. He arrived in June 1711, but did not begin his drawings till the Easter following, the intervening time being spent in raising a fund for his work. At first it was proposed that the plates should be engraved at the Queen's expense and to be given as presents to the nobility, foreign princes and ministers. Lord Treasurer Oxford was much his friend: but Dorigny demanding 4,000? or 5,000? put a stop to that plan; yet the queen gave him an apartment, at Hampton Court, with necessary perquisites."

The work proceeded on a subscription basis. Dorigny soon was overwhelmed and sent to Paris for assistants, among them Charles Dupuis. Dorigny presented the engravings to King George I in April of 1719. He was knighted in 1719 shortly after their completion. He retired to France in 1924. His collection of drawings had been sold in 1723. Among the drawings were a hundred and four heads, hands and feet, traced from the cartoons. The heads were afterwards engraved by various French artists and published by John Boydell as The School of Raphael, or the Student's Guide to Expression in Historical Painting" in 1759. The images reproduced here are from a later 1782 edition which included more illustrations than the original, namely the outline prints of the heads and the 12 plates illustrating the principles of geometry, hands, arms and legs and the plates after Albinus and the Torso of Michelangelo, Apollo, Venus, and Hercules. The additional studies were by John Boydell and the book published under the title The School of Raphael, or the Student's Guide to Expression in Historical Painting: illustrated by Duchange and others, under the inspection of Sir Nicholas Dorigny, from his own drawings after the most celebrated Heads in the Cartoons at the King's Palace according to the Penny Cyclopedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
The Cartoon Gallery at Hampton Court Page 13
Cartoon I The Miraculous Draught of Fishes Page 13
Cartoon II Christ's Charge to Peter Page 14
Cartoon III The Lame Man Healed Page 14
Cartoon IV The Death of Ananias Page 15
Cartoon V Elymas the Sculptor Struck with Blindness Page 15
Cartoon VI Paul and Barnabas at Lystra Page 16
Cartoon VII Paul Preaching at Athens Page 16
Plate 1. 1. Paul Preaching at Athens - Contempt Page 54 2. Elymas the Sorcerer struck with Blindness - Zeal Page 55
Plate 2. 1. Death of Ananias - Fear, Astonishment Page 58 2. Death of Ananias - Compassion, Benevolence Page 59
Plate 3. 1. Paul and Barnabas - Awe Page 62 2. Elymas the Sorcerer - Astonishment with Pity Page 63
Plate 4. 1. Death of Ananias - Attention Page 66 2. The Lame Man Healed - Wonder and Astonishment Page 67
Plate 5. 1. The Lame Man Healed - Attention Page 70 2. Christ's Charge to Peter - Solicitude Page 71
Plate 6. 1. Paul and Barnabas - Awe Page 74 2. The Lame Man Healed - Surprise and Gratitude Page 75
Plate 7. 1. Death of Ananias - Agony Mental and Corporeal Page 78 2. Death of Ananias - Fear and Astonishment Page 79
Plate 8. 1. Paul Preaching - Wonder Page 82 2. Christ's Christ's Charge to Peter - Solicitude Page 83
Plate 9 1. Death of Ananias - Attention Page 86 2. The Lame Man Healed - Placidity Page 87
Plate 10. 1. Death of Ananias - Horror Page 90 2. Death of Ananias - Horror Page 91
Plate 11. 1. The Lame Man Healed - Astonishment Page 94 2. Christ's Charge to Peter - Anxiety Page 95
Plate 12. 1. Paul Preaching - Attention Page 98 2. Elymas the Sorcerer - Fear and Devotion Page 99
Plate 13. 1. Paul and Barnabas - Surprise with Doubt Page 102 2. Christ's Charge to Peter - Concern Page 103
Plate 14. 1. Elymas the Sorcerer - Fear and Wonder Page 106 2. Death of Ananias - Terror with Compassion Page 107
Plate 15. 1. Paul Preaching - Doubt Page 110 2. The Lame Man Healed - Placidity Page 111
Plate 16. 1. Paul and Barnabas - Placidity Page 114 2. Paul and Barnabas - Placidity Page 115
Plate 17. 1. The Lame Man Healed - Astonishment Page 118 2. The Lame Man Healed - Fear and Amazement Page 119
Plate 18 1. Christ's Charge to Peter - Ardour and Affection Page 122 2. Christ's Charge to Peter - Ardour and Affection Page 123
Plate 19. 1. Paul Preaching - Extreme Attention Page 126 2. Paul and Barnabas - Surprise with Attention Page 127
Plate 20. 1. Paul and Barnabas - Sorrow with Pity Page 130 2. Paul Preaching at Athens - Astonishment with Disgust Page 131
Plate 21. 1. Death of Ananias - Expectation Page 134 2. Elymas the Sorcerer - Zeal Page 135
Plate 22. 1. Christ's Charge to Peter - Concern Page 138 2. Death of Ananias - Severity Page 139
Plate 23. 1. Paul and Barnabas - Joy with Gratitude Page 142 2. Death of Ananias - Concern Page 143
Plate 24. 1. Paul Preaching - Attention with Astonishment Page 146 2. The Lame Man Healed - Attention with Amazement Page 147
Plate 25. 1. Paul Preaching - Attention Page 150 2. The Miraculous Draught of Fishes - Awe and Attention Page 151
Plate 26. 1. Elymas the Sorcerer - Arrogance dejected Page 154 2. Elymas the Sorcerer - Astonishment with Doubt Page 155
Plate 27. 1. Paul Preaching at Athens - Ardour Page 158 2. The Lame Man Healed - Malevolence Page 159
Plate 28. 1. Death of Ananias - Attention Page 162 2. Christ's Charge to Peter - Anxiety Page 163
Plate 29. 1. Christ's Charge to Peter - Awe and Attention Page 166 2. The Lame Man Healed - Surprise Page 167
Plate 30. 1. Paul Preaching - Doubt Page 170 2. Paul Preaching - Attention Page 171
Plate 31. 1. The Lame Man Healed Page 174 2. The Lame Man Healed Page 175
Plate 32. 1. Death of Ananias - Expectation Page 178 2. Death of Ananias - Expectation Page 179
Plate 33. 1. Paul and Barnabas - Superstition Page 182 2. Paul Preaching - Incredulity Page 183
Plate 34. 1. The Miraculous Draught of Fishes - Benignity Page 186 2. The Miraculous Draught of Fishes - Fear and Reverence Page 187
Plate 35. 1. Christ's Charge to Peter - Affection Page 190 2. Death of Ananias - Displeasure Page 191
Plate 36. 1. Death of Ananias - Attention Page 194 2. Paul Preaching - Thoughtfulness Page 195
Plate 37. 1. Paul and Barnabas - Ardour Page 198 2. Paul Preaching - Conviction Page 199
Plate 38 1. Elymas the Sorcerer - Astonishment Page 202 2. Paul Preaching - Incredulity Page 203
Plate 39. 1. Death of Ananias - Concern Page 206 2. Christ's Charge to Peter - Solicitude Page 207
Plate 40. 1. Paul and Barnabas - Reverence Page 210 2. Paul and Barnabas - Superstition Page 211
Plate 41. 1. Paul and Barnabas - Awe Page 214 2. Paul Preaching - Contempt Page 215
Plate 42. 1. Paul Preaching - Contempt Page 218 2. Paul Preaching - Disgust Page 219
Plate 43. 1. Paul and Barnabas - Awe Page 222 2. Paul and Barnabas - Curiosity Page 223
Plate 44. 1. Paul and Barnabas - Enthusiasm Page 226 2. Death of Ananias Page 227
Plate 45. 1. Paul and Barnabas - Superstition Page 230 2. Paul and Barnabas - Superstition Page 231
Plate I. Geometrical Figures Page 234
Plate II. Studies of the Eye, Nose, Mouth and Ear Page 235
Plate III. Studies of Hands and Feet Page 236
Plate IV. Studies of Arms and Legs Page 237
Plate V. Torso of Michelangelo Page 238
Plate VI. Human Skeleton Front View after Albinus Page 239
Plate VII. Human Skeleton Back View after Albinus Page 240
PlateVIII. Human Muscles Front View after Albinus Page 241
Plate IX. Human Muscles Back View after Albinus Page 242
Plate X. Appollo Belvedere Page 243
Plate XI. Venus de' Medici Page 244
Plate XII. Farnese Hercules Page 245

Sketches to paint from

2025-06-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

I started a series of paintings which will be posted to SaatchiArt. Here are some sketches I am starting from

Drawing the Model by Lois Darling

2023-01-05T23:13:00.004-08:00

Drawing Light and Shadows Pageant Magazine

2023-01-05T23:07:00.001-08:00

A. Calavas

2022-05-26T21:24:00.001-07:00

A. Calavas studies for artists.

James Fetter

2022-05-26T21:01:00.001-07:00

Complimentary color scheme art school project.

A. Penot

2022-05-26T20:59:00.001-07:00

Male Model

2022-03-30T23:11:00.004-07:00

1900s study of a male model for artists

Artist and his model

2022-03-30T23:08:00.001-07:00

Stereoview

Figürliche darstellungen

2022-03-30T22:48:00.002-07:00

Movendo - Figürliche darstellungen von A. fiedler

Autochrome Art Model

2022-03-25T21:02:00.002-07:00

Figürliche darstellungen

2022-03-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

Movendo - Figürliche darstellungen von A. fiedler

Figürliche darstellungen

2022-03-25T20:10:00.001-07:00

Movendo - figürliche darstellungen von A. Fiedler

Pageant Magazine

2021-10-03T20:29:00.001-07:00

Drawing lessons from Pageant Magazine

Standing Figures

2021-09-08T22:39:00.001-07:00

Both paintings 2021, 16" x 20"

EMMANUEL FOUGERAT

2021-09-08T21:44:00.005-07:00

A former student of the Regional School of Fine Arts in Rennes , Emmanuel Fougerat studied in the studio of Albert Maignan and that of Jean-Paul Laurens in Paris. He was appointed director of the Ecole Superieure des beaux-arts de Nantes. The Photo is of the women's class.

Modeling for paintings

2021-09-05T21:20:00.001-07:00

Posing for a crucifixion painting

2021-09-05T21:19:00.001-07:00

Gosses

2021-03-14T20:32:00.000-07:00

Modern Leda

2021-03-14T20:22:00.000-07:00

Artist and Model

2021-03-14T20:07:00.003-07:00

It is not always the model who poses the most

Albert Wasserman

2021-03-13T20:11:00.002-08:00

Albert Wasserman painting of a model and another artist at the Art Student's League in New York City

Augusto

2020-12-25T19:30:00.001-08:00

In-folio Sculpture Statue Auguste Nu - Eighteenth Century

Sculpture from the Capitoline Museum in Rome.

engraving on strong laid paper.

Drawing for Artists

2020-12-25T19:15:00.004-08:00

Thalia, Clio, Bacchus, Venus de Arles, Discolbolus

1896 Faces of Mankind

2020-12-25T18:43:00.002-08:00

1896 Chromolithograph