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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileThe drawing focuses on the intense physical effort of a muscular young man supporting the weight of a frail, older man. The artist uses cross-hatching and fine line work to contrast the tension in the carrier's legs and back with the limp, withered limbs of the father. This study was created for the fresco 'The Fire in the Borgo' in the Vatican, where this pair appears escaping a burning building.
In the Renaissance, the image of Aeneas and Anchises was a primary emblem of 'pietas' (filial duty), but it also served a Neoplatonic function as an allegory for the transmission of ancient wisdom across generations. By including this Virgilian motif in the Vatican, Raphael helped bridge classical antiquity with the Christian present, a core pursuit of the 'prisca theologia' movement.
Raffaelle d'Urbino
Translation
Raphael of Urbino
Virgil
The drawing depicts a central scene from Book II of the Aeneid, describing the flight from Troy.
Marsilio Ficino
Ficino's Neoplatonic circle emphasized the continuity of ancient lineages of wisdom, which this image of ancestral preservation reflects.
Object
Oil on panel
mythological
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
https://sammlungenonline.albertina.at/ "Raffaello Santi" (KÜNSTLER_IN) Graphische Sammlung (Sammlung)
850 × 1401 px
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.