Raphael drawing discovered in private collection

1.00pm - By LOUISE JURY

A previously unknown drawing by the Renaissance master Raphael thought to be his earliest work in red chalk has been discovered in a small private collection of Italian works.

Research shows that it is probably a preparatory drawing for the painting, Ansidei Madonna, which hangs in the National Gallery in London. No other preparatory work is known for the painting.

The 500-year-old drawing came to light when a collector who lives in London brought a portfolio of fine Italian drawings in to the auctioneer's Sotheby's for a routine evaluation. They had been stored in a draw in the family home for decades.

As Cristiana Romalli, Sotheby's Old Master drawings expert, leafed through them, she spotted a head of a child which she was immediately convinced was by Raphael.

"When you see a drawing like this you know it's Raphael," she said. "You always have a chance that something like this turns up but it's very unusual when they come out of the blue. I could hardly believe that a work by so major an artist could really be here, so unexpected, and with no indication whatsoever of any previous attribution."

The work will now be sold on 8 July when it is estimated to fetch between £50,000 and £70,000. But as one of only a handful of Raphael drawings in private hands, it is difficult to value. The last drawing by the artist to appear at auction sold for more than £190,000 in 1997 in New York.

Dr Romalli said the National Gallery was more cautious than she was about the connection with its painting as the child's head is in a different position.

But under infra-red light it can be seen that the early composition was much closer to the fuller-cheeked child of the drawing.

"I believe that in the future, this drawing will always be linked with the Ansidei Madonna," she said.

The drawing dates from around 1505 when Raphael was 22 and had just moved to Florence. It shows a defining moment in his career when he first began using red chalk as a direct result of exposure to the works of Leonardo da Vinci.

On the reverse of the paper is a second drawing, of a metal burner, possibly for incense, which may add weight to a theory that Raphael also designed objects for metalwork.

- INDEPENDENT