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I've read in a book written about 80 years ago descriptions of 3 paintings, the paintings were seen about 130 years ago.

These are the descriptions (translated to English):

Painting #1

Painting of a battle field, on a high place the commanders stand and look through some sort of telescope how their soldiers fight, on one side there are rivers of blood and two people are fighting, from another side injured people with chopped legs and broken hands. Nurses carrying 3 injured people on one bed with a doctor walking near them, but a bullet explodes and hits the doctor and one of the nurses so the injured people are falling into a deep pit. A fighter riding on a horse is being thrown away in the air with his horse by a bullet hitting them. Another fighter is riding on a horse and swing his sword with his right hand, with his left hand he's holding his horses bridle.

Painting #2

A field with grain, one part of it has wheat the other has barley. On the side of the field there's a road. The sky is bright and the sun is shining. On top of one wheat in the field stands a small bird. On the end of the field there's a tree with many branches and on one of the branches sitting a raven.

Painting #3

A court in Rome, prisoners are tied, judges, a prosecutor and a pleader. A small child standing on a chair pointing on the crowd with one finger and looking on the judges. The person being judged is sitting with his head between his knees.

Some background: The book's author is known to be accurate about details. He mentions that the paintings were made by "The known and famous artist Raphael". He also states that the first 2 paintings were reviewed by thousands of known artists. (I'm not sure but they were probably seen at the Louvre Museum). However I couldn't find the paintings while searching the web for Raphael's paintings. I've tried to go through this web site and also this web site to no avail. I also went through the Catalogue of Raphaels work in the book "Raphael: His Life, Works and Times by Eugène Müntz" which @user2448131 suggests in his comment, but I didn't manage to track them there also.

Please help me find these paintings.

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    @KillingTime - Photos of the paintings would be great. The descriptions I wrote are detailed, if someone manage to find the paintings I'm sure he would recognize them by the descriptions.
    – Researcher
    Sep 25, 2016 at 10:57
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    #2 is strange, for Raphael wasn't fond of painting landscapes for the sake of landscapes. Perhaps it is a detail of the background of one of his portraits? #1 allso seems out of character for Raphael; he did paint a few battle scenes, or directed their painting by his assistants, but none that I could locate (The Battle of the Milvian Bridge, probably executed by Giulio Romano, and The Battle of Ostia) matches your description - and are frescoes, not canvasses. #3 looks - or sounds - more like something Raphael would paint, but I was also unable to find it among his works in the internet.
    – Luís Henrique
    Oct 31, 2016 at 13:26
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    Is it possible the book just got the authorship wrong on those works?
    – T.E.D. ♦
    Nov 2, 2016 at 14:28
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    Could you tell us about the book you read this in? The author and name would be very helpful. Raphael doesn't seem like a likely painter of all three. Especially #1 seems to be set later than his own time period. The description says 18/19th century to me, such gruesome battle depictions and widespread use of firearms don't seem like 1500 to me. Also telescopes/spyglasses were invented around 1600 and I've never heard of a similar device used on the battlefield before that.
    – Dulkan
    Nov 9, 2016 at 15:14
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    If there are nurses in the field in #1, the scene likely wasn't painted before the Crimean War.
    – Spencer
    Jun 17, 2017 at 13:38

1 Answer 1

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Scholarship on Raphael's works is continually advancing. Many "lost" works by Rafael have been rediscovered in recent years. Some of his previous works have been reattributed to others. It is important to include these changes in one's research by using modern reference materials. One potential source would be a catalogue raisonnee of the artist's work, such as Raphael: a Critical Catalogue of His Paintings, Volume 2: the Roman Religious Paintings, Ca. 1508-1520 [Catalogue Raisonne, Catalog Raisonné, Complete Works, Life and Work, Raisonnee].

After doing one's own research, it would might make sense to consult with an art historian who specializes in the relevant period, category, or artist. You can find these experts by searching the directory of the Association of Art Historians.

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