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Upraised Right Hand, with Palm Facing Outward: Study for Saint Peter

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See how the light comes from the left across the palm and fingers, then find the old inscription naming Raphael in the lower left corner.

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Raphael drew this hand between 1518 and 1520, near the end of his life, in black chalk heightened with white, over lines first scored with a stylus. The Art Institute links it to Saint Peter’s raised hand in the Sala di Costantino, the largest papal room in the Vatican, which Raphael planned and his assistants under Giulio Romano finished in 1524. In both the drawing and the fresco the light falls from the left.

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Black chalk, heightened with white chalk and lead white, partially oxidized, over stylus underdrawing, on cream laid paper · 28.6 × 19.7 cm · Art Institute of Chicago · High Renaissance and Mannerism

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Details and source

Museum title
Upraised Right Hand, with Palm Facing Outward: Study for Saint Peter
Artist
Raffaello Sanzio, called Raphael Italian, 1483-1520
Date
1518/20
Medium
Black chalk, heightened with white chalk and lead white, partially oxidized, over stylus underdrawing, on cream laid paper
Dimensions
28.6 × 19.7 cm (11 5/16 × 7 13/16 in.)
Credit line
The Leonora Hall Gurley Memorial Collection
Image license
CC0 1.0 · Public domain
Museum record
Art Institute of Chicago

Artist’s life 1483–1520

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Galler’s rooms and hanging scale are imagined. The image is the museum’s original digital reproduction.

Upraised Right Hand, with Palm Facing Outward: Study for Saint Peter · Raphael, 1518/20
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Upraised Right Hand, with Palm Facing Outward: Study for Saint Peter, Raphael

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