Raphael

1483-1520 • Italian • Painter/Architect • Renaissance

"... But the most graceful of all was Raphael of Urbino, who, studying the labors of both the ancients and the modern masters, selected the best from each . ... Nature herself was vanquished by his colors." - Vasari

Raphael's oeuvre seems restrained in comparison to those of the other two stars of the High ITALIAN RENAISSANCE, LEONARDO and MICHELANGELO. In temperament as well as pictorial expression, Raphael appears to have been more task oriented and less interested in psychological conflict than was Leonardo, and not obsessed, as Michelangelo was, with the muscular beauty of the human form. (They were older than he by thirty and eight years, respectively; he died a year before Leonardo, and was outlived by Michelangelo.) But Raphael was strongly affected by the accomplishments of both artists, absorbing much of what he recognized as their innovations, as he had absorbed the influence of his early mentor, PERUGINO. Raphael's Marriage of the Virgin (1504), for example, closely follows the sedate, orderly composition and tranquil disposition of Perugino's Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to Saint Peter (c. 1480-82). It is wrong, however, to describe Raphael as a chameleon; while he may have adapted the stylistic innovations of others, he used them according to his own creative interpretation. He shared several of their PATRONS, and was working at the Vatican for Pope Julius II while Michelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling. What he was able to see of Michelangelo's work-which was limited, as Michelangelo was quite secretive- seemed to impress Raphael profoundly. Still, Raphael had an intellectual detachment, combined with a calm, controlled spirituality, that both Michelangelo and Leonardo lacked. He aspired to a universal religion that reconciled Christianity and paganism, and strove to unify spiritual and material
beauty. His Vatican commissions included a FRESCO regarding the doctrine of transubstantiation, which was heatedly argued at the time: In his Disputation(Disputation over the Sacrament; c.1508-10), while the heavenly host is suspended overhead, learned but earthbound theologians debate their convictions about the matter. In the same room with Disputa Raphael painted his renowned School of Athens (c.1510-12, so named during the 18th century). Here PLATO and Aristotle, amid a gathering of pre-Christian philosophers and scientists, also avidly deliberate their ideas. This painting, expressing clarity, harmony, spatial integrity, and CLASSICAL references, is emblematic of High Italian Renaissance values. Besides his own self-portrait, Raphael is thought to have painted his colleagues, including Michelangelo, among the ancient philosophers. Raphael was a supreme colorist, believed to be the first who matched his mode of applying paint, as well as the colors themselves, to the mood he wished to evoke. His many Madonnas are beautiful and serene, none more so than the Sistine Madonna(c.1513-14), who walks on clouds, surrounded by barely visible, cloudlike angels; and the portraits of his contemporaries,especially that of his friend.