A. L. Genovese – Abstract

The complex iconography of the Diana of Ephesus, which also fascinated Raphael, introducing it in the decoration of the Vatican frescoes, with time became a symbol of his genius, coupled with the creative force of Nature. The article analyzes the developments in this process, beginning with the epitaph verses, through the image of the prophet Isaiah in a drawing by Federico Zuccari, up to the creation of a medal, with a Rafael’s portrait on the obverse and the idol of Diana of Ephesus on the reverse. Finally, the medal is compared with some ancient coins and with the cultural classicist of the literate Giovan Pietro Bellori and the painter Carlo Maratti, to propose a dating at the end of the seventeenth century.