Pursuits
Raphael ‘Pope Julius II’ Sold to Staedel May Be Original
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Frankfurt’s Staedel Museum acquired a portrait of Pope Julius II that it says is an original by Raphael and his workshop. Previously thought to be a copy, it failed to sell at auction for $10,700 in 2007.
Versions of the same portrait hang in London’s National Gallery and the Uffizi in Florence. The Staedel’s new acquisition was offered at auction in Vienna as a “copy after Raphael” with a low estimate of 8,000 euros ($10,700) in 2007, according to the Dorotheum GmbH & Co. KG auction house.