Raffaello - Stehender Apoll (Studie für das Gastmahl der Götter, Villa Farnesina, Rom), 218

This drawing shows a muscular male figure in a contrapposto stance, viewed from the rear with his head turned in profile. He supports a large stringed instrument against his left side, using his right hand to reach across his body. The work is a preparatory sketch using sanguine chalk to capture the anatomical details and the fall of light on the torso and legs.

Apollo represents the Neoplatonic ideal of cosmic harmony and the solar intellect. As a study for the Villa Farnesina, it reflects the Renaissance revival of classical mystery traditions and the integration of Olympian mythology into the humanist philosophical framework of 16th-century Rome.