Raphael’s ‘Head of an Apostle’ Heading to Auction at Sotheby’s
A Renaissance drawing from a prized British collection is being sold at Sotheby’s in London on Dec. 5, the auction house is expected to announce on Tuesday.
Raphael’s “Head of an Apostle,’’ dating from around 1519, was created as a study for a figure in one of the artist’s greatest late paintings, “Transfiguration,’’ that belongs to the Vatican Museum in Rome. The drawing, which was executed in black chalk, is from Chatsworth, the Derbyshire home of the Duke of Devonshire (who also happens to be deputy chairman of Sotheby’s board of directors.) Estimated to sell for $15.8 million to $23.8 million, it has belonged to the Duke’s family since William Cavendish, the 2nd Duke of Devonshire, acquired it sometime in either in the late 17th or early 18th centuries....