D. Ekserdjian-Abstract

The cycle of frescoes in the Stanza della Segnatura of the Vatican was commissioned by Pope Julius II della Rovere and carried out by Raphael Sanzio between 1508 and the end of 1511. When the Urbino artist started work, another artist, Giovanni Antonio Bazzi called Sodoma, may have already decorated the ceiling. And so it is quite likely that Raphael began working on the cycle from one of the walls and only later moved up to the vault.

However, the chronological order of the paintings on the walls has been a subject of debate since the times of Vasari, who claimed that Raphael started from The School of Athens. Of a different opinion was Giovan Pietro Bellori who claimed that Raphael began with The Disputation. The many preparatory drawings that have survived are discussed here for the first time by the scholar as valid aids in understanding the sequence in which the frescoes were done.