(Urbino 1483 - Rome 1520)
Called Raffaello Santi or Sanzio, an Italian artist. Son of the painter Giovanni Santi, he trained in Perugia alongside Perugino, from whom he adopted light tones, placid compositions, and spacious landscapes in his early works (The Three Graces, Chantilly; The Dream of the Knight, London). But he soon surpassed him with The Marriage of the Virgin, a masterpiece of elegant and measured harmony, which marks the end of this period (1504, Bera, Milan). Subsequently, Raphael studied successively in Siena, Urbino, Florence, and Rome, in a constant attempt to assimilate the art of the great masters who preceded him.
In Florence, he studied the works of Fra Bartolomeo and Leonardo, whose “sfumato” he adopted in the Madonna of the Grand Duke (1505, Pitti), and the pyramidal composition in The Beautiful Gardener (1507, Louvre). The dramatic movement and the nudes in The Fire in the Borgo (Vatican Rooms) derive from Michelangelo, as do The Sibyls of Santa Maria della Pace. In The Mass of Bolsena (Vatican) or in the Madonna of the Fish (Prado), certain traits of the tonal painting of the Venetians can be appreciated, which he learned about through Sebastiano del Biombo.
The overwhelming success of his work led Raphael to enrich his types of composition; however, starting in 1515, he was forced to leave the execution of most of his works in the hands of his collaborators and disciples, who became increasingly numerous. In 1508, at the recommendation of Bramante, Pope Julius II called him to Rome and commissioned him to decorate the rooms of his apartments, which contain, among others, the famous compositions of The School of Athens (1509-1510) and The Disputation of the Sacrament (1509-1511), where he also expresses all his experience in the play of lights.
At the same time that he decorated the Rooms, Raphael was composing the delicate frescoes of Galatea (1511) for the Farnesina villa and drawing The Story of Psyche (executed by his disciples). He also delivered the cartoons for the ten tapestries of the Acts of the Apostles (1515-1516, Victoria and Albert Museum, London); the monumental tapestries woven in Brussels do not accurately reflect the fluidity and spaciousness of Raphael, The Transfiguration (1517-1520, Vatican Museum), completed by his disciples, constitutes, with its 25 figures, the final result of his studies in composition, perspective, and light (Poussin considered this work to be the pinnacle of painting).
Raphael expressed the true essence of his art, his serene classicism, in the magnificent Madonnas he painted during this time: Madonna of Foligno (1511-1512, Vatican), Madonna of the Chair (1514, Pitti), Madonna of San Sisto (1513, Dresden). Finally, he provided the highest and most suggestive proof of his delicate psychological intuition, as well as his sense of harmonious ranges and the finest values, in the portraits of Angelo Doni and his wife Magdalena Doni (1506, Pitti, Florence), La Velata (1516, Pitti, Florence), Leo X and two cardinals (1518-1519, Uffizi, Florence), Baldassare Castiglione (Louvre), Julius II (National Gallery, London), and an unknown cardinal (Prado).
Simultaneously with his pictorial works, Raphael carried out important architectural projects. Upon Bramante's death (1514), he succeeded him as architect of St. Peter's, completed the gallery of the Loggias, and planned its decoration: grotesques inspired by motifs discovered in the caves of the Esquiline and small panels illustrating Genesis, which constitute what is commonly referred to as the “Bible of Raphael.” In 1509, he delivered the plans for the small church of Sant'Eligio degli Orefici, with a central plan. The Chigi Chapel, in Santa Maria del Popolo (completed in 1520), also has a Greek cross plan. For the Branconio dell'Aquila palace (destroyed in the 17th century), he designed a façade animated by balconies, stuccos, and niches, of magnificent picturesque quality. The ensemble is known from a drawing by Parmigianino (Uffizi). Raphael also traced the plans for the Pandolfini palace in Florence, which was executed by G.F. de Sangallo, as well as those for the Villa Madama in Rome (built after 1520, reconstructed in 1950), whose vaulted ceilings with domes, as well as the niches, coffered ceilings, and stuccos, derive directly from the ancient architecture of the Domus Aurea.
The art of Raphael garnered the passionate support of his contemporaries, humanists like Bibbiena, poets like Tebaldeo or Ariosto, and patrons like Agostino Chigi. His genius, a blend of restraint and grace, exerted a lasting influence in all domains of art.
Called Raffaello Santi or Sanzio, an Italian artist. Son of the painter Giovanni Santi, he trained in Perugia alongside Perugino, from whom he adopted light tones, placid compositions, and spacious landscapes in his early works (The Three Graces, Chantilly; The Dream of the Knight, London). But he soon surpassed him with The Marriage of the Virgin, a masterpiece of elegant and measured harmony, which marks the end of this period (1504, Bera, Milan). Subsequently, Raphael studied successively in Siena, Urbino, Florence, and Rome, in a constant attempt to assimilate the art of the great masters who preceded him.
In Florence, he studied the works of Fra Bartolomeo and Leonardo, whose “sfumato” he adopted in the Madonna of the Grand Duke (1505, Pitti), and the pyramidal composition in The Beautiful Gardener (1507, Louvre). The dramatic movement and the nudes in The Fire in the Borgo (Vatican Rooms) derive from Michelangelo, as do The Sibyls of Santa Maria della Pace. In The Mass of Bolsena (Vatican) or in the Madonna of the Fish (Prado), certain traits of the tonal painting of the Venetians can be appreciated, which he learned about through Sebastiano del Biombo.
The overwhelming success of his work led Raphael to enrich his types of composition; however, starting in 1515, he was forced to leave the execution of most of his works in the hands of his collaborators and disciples, who became increasingly numerous. In 1508, at the recommendation of Bramante, Pope Julius II called him to Rome and commissioned him to decorate the rooms of his apartments, which contain, among others, the famous compositions of The School of Athens (1509-1510) and The Disputation of the Sacrament (1509-1511), where he also expresses all his experience in the play of lights.
At the same time that he decorated the Rooms, Raphael was composing the delicate frescoes of Galatea (1511) for the Farnesina villa and drawing The Story of Psyche (executed by his disciples). He also delivered the cartoons for the ten tapestries of the Acts of the Apostles (1515-1516, Victoria and Albert Museum, London); the monumental tapestries woven in Brussels do not accurately reflect the fluidity and spaciousness of Raphael, The Transfiguration (1517-1520, Vatican Museum), completed by his disciples, constitutes, with its 25 figures, the final result of his studies in composition, perspective, and light (Poussin considered this work to be the pinnacle of painting).
Raphael expressed the true essence of his art, his serene classicism, in the magnificent Madonnas he painted during this time: Madonna of Foligno (1511-1512, Vatican), Madonna of the Chair (1514, Pitti), Madonna of San Sisto (1513, Dresden). Finally, he provided the highest and most suggestive proof of his delicate psychological intuition, as well as his sense of harmonious ranges and the finest values, in the portraits of Angelo Doni and his wife Magdalena Doni (1506, Pitti, Florence), La Velata (1516, Pitti, Florence), Leo X and two cardinals (1518-1519, Uffizi, Florence), Baldassare Castiglione (Louvre), Julius II (National Gallery, London), and an unknown cardinal (Prado).
Simultaneously with his pictorial works, Raphael carried out important architectural projects. Upon Bramante's death (1514), he succeeded him as architect of St. Peter's, completed the gallery of the Loggias, and planned its decoration: grotesques inspired by motifs discovered in the caves of the Esquiline and small panels illustrating Genesis, which constitute what is commonly referred to as the “Bible of Raphael.” In 1509, he delivered the plans for the small church of Sant'Eligio degli Orefici, with a central plan. The Chigi Chapel, in Santa Maria del Popolo (completed in 1520), also has a Greek cross plan. For the Branconio dell'Aquila palace (destroyed in the 17th century), he designed a façade animated by balconies, stuccos, and niches, of magnificent picturesque quality. The ensemble is known from a drawing by Parmigianino (Uffizi). Raphael also traced the plans for the Pandolfini palace in Florence, which was executed by G.F. de Sangallo, as well as those for the Villa Madama in Rome (built after 1520, reconstructed in 1950), whose vaulted ceilings with domes, as well as the niches, coffered ceilings, and stuccos, derive directly from the ancient architecture of the Domus Aurea.
The art of Raphael garnered the passionate support of his contemporaries, humanists like Bibbiena, poets like Tebaldeo or Ariosto, and patrons like Agostino Chigi. His genius, a blend of restraint and grace, exerted a lasting influence in all domains of art.
