Object Description
A framed antique neoclassical micro mosaic panel by Samuel Cooper (signed), after a female depicted in Raphael’s cartoon ‘Beautiful Gate’, also known as ‘The Healing of the Lame Man’.
This piece is listed in both the January 10th and February 14th 1868 Journal of the Society of Arts in which it won a first-place prize. The only other known fragmentary mosaic by Cooper, described as ‘the head of a female saint in adoration’, resides at the V&A Museum, London.
Cooper captures the neoclassical woman in great detail using small mosaic tiles, known as micro mosaic. She is depicted as she is in Raphael’s cartoon, with hair tied up into a bun, wearing earrings and headband, and drapery over her right shoulder. In the cartoon, the female holds a baby in her arms and watches on as Peter cures a man who cannot walk outside the Porta Speciosa (Beautiful Gate) of the Temple in Jerusalem.
The Raphael tapestries originate from the early 16th century and the Cartoons have resided at the V&A since 1865. It is highly possible that Cooper observed Raphael’s Cartoons on their arrival at the V&A and then created this mosaic based on his observations.
This large-scale oval mosaic is signed to the reverse (see photos) and set into a wooden frame, ready for placement on the walls of any interior with an appreciation of fine artwork and classical studies.
Additional Dimensions
Inner sight: H47 x W35.5 cm