What did Raphael write? Rafael Santi interesting facts. Fresco “Fire in Borgo”

Brilliant artist Rafael Sanzio was born in the small Italian city of Urbino in 1483. Like most Italian cities of that time, Urbino was an independent state ruled by Duke Federigo de Montefeltro, famous for his love of the arts and sciences. His son Guidobaldo da Urbino made his court the center of the outstanding minds of Italy. Urbino was not an exceptional city in this regard. Love for science and art was a distinctive feature of all Italian cities of the Renaissance.

Rafael Sanzio comes from the family of a small merchant, artisan Giovanni Sanzio. Giovanni had his own workshop, in which he painted images, finished furniture, saddles, and gilded various objects. The concepts of a craftsman and an artist were not separated then - all craft items were, to a greater or lesser extent, works of art, everything was created on the basis of high demands on the beauty of a thing. Raphael has been involved in the work of his father's workshop since childhood. Having shown an early inclination for drawing, he began to study with his father, who, if not a wonderful painter, then understood and appreciated painting. In his youth, when Giovanni was undergoing a period of apprenticeship, he often traveled and wrote a lot. And now his works have survived (for example, “Madonna surrounded by saints” in the Church of Santa Croce in Fano).

Urbino was not at that time the center of any painting school, like Perugia, Florence or Siena, but the city was often visited by many artists who carried out individual orders and influenced Urbino painters with their works. Paolo Ucelo, Piero della Francesca and Melozzo da Forli visited Urbino, who executed four allegories of the “Liberal Arts” for the Urbino court - a work full of majestic calm.

In 1494, when Raphael was only eleven years old, his father died. The Sanzio family at that time consisted of Bernardina, Giovanni’s second wife (Raphael’s mother died when he was eight years old), Giovanni’s two sisters, little Raphael, and his uncle, the monk Bartolomeo, who was appointed guardian of the future artist. Family members did not get along very well with each other. Raphael lived in his family until 1500. This period of Raphael's life is least known. In any case, it is known that Raphael was engaged in painting all this time and was a student of the artist Timoteo Viti, who worked at the court of Federigo de Montefeltro.

In 1500, Raphael went to the city of Perugia, closest to Urbino, famous for its painting masters. The most famous painter in those parts, Pietro Vannucci, better known by his name, lived in Perugia. Perugino had his own workshop, a large number of students, and only Signorelli, who at that time lived in the city of Cortona, located a little further from Urbino than Perugia, competed with him in fame in Umbria.

Perugia was the center of all Umbria. Situated on a rocky plateau, the city has been a living monument to many eras. Everything in this city breathed art: from the ancient walls, the gates of the Etruscan era, the towers and bastions of feudal times, and ending with the fountain of Giovanni Pisano, which entered the history of art, and the Cambio exchange, in which the local corporation of bankers met. Perugia lived a vibrant life; Basically, life took place in the square: disputes were resolved here, festivities were held, the merits of rulers and warriors, buildings and paintings were discussed. The life of the city was full of contrasts: crimes and virtues, conspiracies, murders, cruelties, humility, good nature and sincere gaiety easily coexisted side by side. Perugia was ruled by a papal legate who did not enjoy authority and was constantly under threat of assassination. And not only secret, but also open murders were not particularly condemned. At this very time, the city gave the master Perugino an order to paint the local Cambio exchange with frescoes. This is how “The Transfiguration”, “The Adoration of the Magi” and other works of Perugino arose, on which he worked for more than seven years.

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Adoration of the Magi

Transfiguration

Michelangelo found Perugino's art boring and outdated. This assessment was caused by the fact that the most conservative traditions of the Quattrocento were still alive in Perugia (in the history of Italian culture there is a periodization by century; therefore, the Renaissance is conventionally divided into the following periods: Trocento - XIV century, Quattrocento - XV century and Cinquecento - XVI century .). Artists created compositions here that were in some ways close to old art. Primitiveness was their distinguishing feature. Typically these paintings adhered closely to the texts of scripture. Artists did not yet know how to isolate the ideas that excited them, to separate with due understanding the necessary from the accidental. The paintings of many Quattrocentists - and the artists of Perugia were more so than others - are overloaded with details, figures, the pictorial representation of the biblical theme was quite naive in them.

The Umbrian school developed under the influence of the Sienese. Siena artists wandering around the cities and villages left their naive creations, distinguished by some epic archaism and iconographic monotony, in the altars and on the walls of churches. The sublime conventionality of these icon-like paintings distinguished the Sienese from other Italian schools. The Siena school improved medieval patriarchal ideals and, although it achieved high skill in its icons and was famous for the purity and subtlety of contours, tenderness and care of execution, it still did not go beyond the traditional objects of images. Thus, the Sienese turned little to nature, all their compositions were built against the backdrop of fantastic architecture, but the delicate azure of their paintings and the very convention and traditional monotony were very much loved in Umbria. Many Umbrian artists developed under the influence of the Sienese.

The art of Florence, which at that time was the center of artistic life and absorbed all the brightest and most talented, was not alien to Perugia. Florence influenced by the complexity and novelty of its artistic tasks, its bold humanistic understanding of beauty. The largest artists of Umbria - Luca Signorelli, Perugino and Pinturicchio created their wonderful works thanks to the fact that they relied not only on the Siena, but also on the Florentine tradition. If Signorelli was influenced more by Florence, who drew his attention to the naked human body, shaping his already stern and direct character towards extreme logic and frankness, then Perugino is closer to the Sienese with their patriarchy and artistic conservatism.

Perugino traveled a lot; He also studied in Florence, working under the guidance of Piero della Francesca, and also together with Leonardo da Vinci at the Verrocchio school. Despite all sorts of influences, Perugino still remained, in spirit, a purely Umbrian artist who loved the soft and gentle contours and touching images of the Mother of God. The dreamy, spiritual faces of his Madonnas still constitute the glory of the Umbrian school. When young Raphael entered Perugino, the latter was at the zenith of his fame. At this time he covered the halls of the Cambio with frescoes. There is an opinion that Raphael took part in Perugino’s work as a student, but it is impossible to establish this for sure.

At first, Raphael worked under the influence of Perugino. The master of that time did not set himself the task of developing the individuality of the student, but only imparted to him the technique of mastery. Students often painted the master’s sketches, made less important parts of the work, and sometimes the entire work, with the exception of its general composition and final finishing. Perugino, being a popular artist, was so overloaded with orders that very often he completely entrusted them to his students.

Raphael's Madonnas, which would later occupy a large place in the artist's work, bear traces of influence during the first period of his studies in Perugia. Perugino. Some of these Madonnas were drawn by Perugino or his assistant Pinturicchio. This is the Madonna of the Soli Collection (Madonna and Child with a Book): it is a completely Perugino creation, made by the timid hand of a student (it dates back to 1501). The Madonna Conestabile della Stoffa, painted by Raphael at the same time, is famous. This Madonna is unusually naive and touchingly graceful; in it, Raphael is already felt as an independent artist, despite the fact that from the surviving drawings it is clear that they were made by Perugino or Pinturicchio.

Madonna of the Solly Collection (Madonna and Child with a Book)

Madonna Conestabile della Stoffa

In 1503, after Perugino left for Florence, Raphael received his first major independent commission - to paint the painting “The Coronation of the Virgin” for the church of the Franciscan monastery in Perugia. Raphael receives many orders already as a master from the city of Città di Castello.

Coronation of the Virgin Mary

In 1504, Raphael returned to his homeland, Urbino, as an independent master. He is received at the palace of Duke Guidobaldo and given him patronage. Here he encounters the most interesting and learned people of his time. At the court of Duke Guidobaldo, Raphael paints a small picture of “Saint George”, as well as “Archangel Michael” in the form of a valiant knight, embodying the victory of good over evil. The young artist was very highly regarded at court; The Duke believed that Raphael was quite capable of becoming one of the best artists and creating works that were no lower than everything that had been created before him in painting.

St. George

Archangel Michael casting down the demon

Saint George defeating the dragon

Raphael stayed in Urbino for only six months and, equipped with letters of recommendation, went to Florence. The Florentine Republic was at this time a flourishing center of artistic life. In one city at the same time, geniuses gathered who created works of painting and sculpture that still remain unsurpassed. Florentine masters, architects and painters were famous both in Turkey and Moscow.

And despite the fact that the entire people lived through art and among art, artists were highly valued, but not as artists, but as craftsmen who performed their work well. They paid artists and architects monthly or per foot of mural! True, in Florence more definite boundaries between art and craft were already outlined. Most of the artists came from the people's environment. Their education was usually limited to knowledge of biblical stories. While undergoing training, they were more involved in auxiliary work than in direct artistic work. Although we do not have exact information about Raphael’s life during his student years, there is no reason to assume that he spent them differently. Raphael's exceptional abilities helped him quickly complete the usually very long (often up to fifteen years) apprenticeship course, but his teacher Perugino himself could not give more than what he knew. Therefore, when Raphael plunged into the artistic life of Florence, in which the arts stood at a great height - perspective was open here, anatomy was studied here, the naked human body was known and loved - he felt again like a student who needed to carefully look at his surroundings and draw knowledge from it. In Perugia, Raphael himself already had students and was known as a master, but here they looked at him as a novice artist and did not give him public commissions.

Raphael often visited Perugia, supervised the work of his students, painted pictures and completed orders, but lived and studied in Florence. In Florence, Raphael immersed himself in the study of nature, nature, the theory of angles, perspective, and anatomical problems. Here the composition of his paintings is formed: simple, but surprisingly harmonious and simple Madonnas. These works of Raphael - “Madonna with the Goldfinch”, “Madonna in the Meadow”, “Madonna with the Lamb”, etc. - have already lost the schematic character of the Umbrian school; they quite realistically express the high and gentle, completely earthly ideal of motherhood.

Mary and Child, John the Baptist and Child Jesus Christ (Madonna Terranova)

Madonna Del Granduca

Madonna and Child Enthroned with St. John the Baptist and Nicholas of Myra

Small Madonna of Cowper

Madonna of the Greens (Virgin Mary in the Meadow)

Madonna with carnations

Madonna and Child with Saints and Angels (Madonna under the Canopy)

Madonna with the Goldfinch

Madonna of Orleans

Madonna and Child with John the Baptist in a Landscape (The Beautiful Gardener)

Reading Madonna

In 1508, Raphael was only twenty-five years old, but he had already created more than fifty easel paintings, one fresco in the monastery of San Severo and an endless number of drawings and sketches. Since Raphael achieved great perfection in his art, his fame in Florentine circles grew steadily. The artist mastered great clarity of drawing, improving on high examples; he did not even stop at reworking his unfinished paintings in accordance with new, higher ideas of beauty. Following the advice of Leonardo, Raphael, when depicting his Madonnas, avoids unnecessary details and decorations, which were in great fashion in Umbria, and works on the landscape. Probably, at this time, Raphael was already familiar with Leonardo da Vinci’s “Treatise on Painting,” which was written in 1498. He was already overcoming the traditions of the Quattrocentists: the rigidity of manner and the inability to discard details disappeared, a more generalized realistic ennoblement of the image and strict composition appeared. Raphael's creativity does not come from vague ideas, elusive emotions and naive observations - the act of creativity becomes deeply thought out, built on a clear knowledge and understanding of reality. His paintings acquire a noble simplicity; they show the artist’s desire to logically and extremely expressively embody his ideal of a person in painting. Raphael frees himself from the closed artistic system adopted in Umbria with its shade of provincialism, and introduces into art the ideal of a beautiful person, the harmony of high knowledge and more complex ideas about painting.

Fresco by Raphael and Perugino in the San Severo Chapel in Perugia

Allegory (Knight's Dream)

Crucifix with Virgin Mary, saints and angels

Betrothal of the Virgin Mary to St. Joseph

Three Graces

Blessing of Christ

Holy family under a palm tree

Entombment

Saint Catherine

Holy family

No matter how unique the Italian cities were, each of which was an independent center and lived its own unique life, Rome stood out among them as an extraordinary, special city. At the beginning of the 16th century. Rome is the center of the papal state, the center of Catholic life throughout Europe; in a sense, it was also the political center of Europe.

Pope Julius II, one of the most militant of the Church Fathers, conducted politics mainly with blood and iron. The actions of the popes especially clearly reflected the dual nature of the Renaissance. On the one hand, the popes were the most educated people of their time, they grouped around them the most interesting people of their time and were imbued with the humanistic trends of the century. On the other hand, they were the organizers of the Inquisition and incited religious fanaticism. This era, which most of all believed in the genius and strength of man, gave birth to rulers - subtle connoisseurs of the arts and at the same time monstrous murderers, bright and talented and often at the same time ugly in moral terms. One of these people was Julius II. He went down in history as one of the largest patrons of art who sincerely loved art and contributed to its development. Under Julia, grandiose works began in Rome, for example, the construction of the famous St. Peter's Cathedral. The most famous artists of Italy worked in Rome: Perugino, Peruzzio, Signorelli, Botticelli, Bramantino, Bazzi, Pinturicchio, Michelangelo. The richest monuments of architecture and painting from Giotto and Alberti to Michelangelo and Bramante were concentrated here. Quite unexpectedly for himself, Raphael was invited by Julius II to this world city to take part in the painting of the Vatican halls. Raphael had already begun work in Rome by September 1508. Julius liked Raphael's designs so much that he dismissed the previously invited artists and entrusted him with completing all the work. In a short time, Raphael, who had a gentle and sociable character and was already famous for his successes in the Vatican, received so many orders that he had to take on assistants and students, in other words, he was forced to open a workshop. Raphael had, first of all, to paint with frescoes the “Signature” - the hall where the Pope signed his papers.

Raphael's first Vatican fresco, known as the Disputation, is dedicated to the glorification of religion; the second, located opposite the “Disputation,” depicts the praise of philosophy as a free “divine” science. Above the window, Raphael depicted Parnassus, and below, on the sides of the window, Alexander the Great, ordering the Homer manuscript to be placed in the tomb of Achilles, their emperor Augustus, forbidding Virgil’s friends to burn the Aeneid. Above another window, Raphael depicted allegorical female figures, personifying caution, temperance, etc., on the sides of the window the consecration of civil law by Justinian and the consecration of church laws by Pope Gregory IX are depicted. Emperors, philosophers, popes, merchants and gods, whom Raphael painted on his frescoes, were real people of Italy in the 16th century. True, Raphael already has some tendency to soften, smooth out their sharpness and originality. He chooses his images and idealizes people who are less stormy and impetuous; The essence of Raphael's realism is that it reveals a certain desire to depict calm, quiet moods, balanced characters, and non-acute situations. Therefore, his compositions sometimes suffer from abstraction. Individual faces and figures in these compositions produce a more vivid realistic impression than the mood of the entire picture as a whole. The remnant of the naive faith of the artist, who had already entered the brilliant age of the Cinquecento, but was still directly connected with the traditions of the Quattrocento, could give birth to images similar to those depicted in the Dispute. In the way the “Discourse of the Holy Fathers of the Church on the Sacraments of the Sacrament” (“Disputation”) is executed, one can see something else from Quattrocentist painting. The layout shows a sharp contrast between heaven and earth. The saints and God were located in heaven, mechanically separated from the earth. The entire interpretation of persons and positions, the hierarchical arrangement of characters - everything is reminiscent of the 15th century. The upper part of the fresco, depicting the sky and the Saints, is especially Umbrian in character. Yet this first major composition by Raphael showed him as an exceptional and mature master. Raphael gathered here all the scholastic philosophers, whose names became sacred to the church: here are Thomas Aquinas, John Scott, Augustine, as well as Dante and Savonarola.

Athens school

Bringing Apostle Peter out of prison

Battle of Ostia

Coronation of Charlemagne by Pope Leo III in 800

Fire in Borgo

Stanza della Segnatura

Triumph of law

Now, following the “Disputation,” Raphael painted “The School of Athens,” a fresco brilliant in its mastery of composition. Raphael depicted in that fresco all the wonderful Greek philosophers, placing in the center the two figures who led Greek philosophy - Plato and Aristotle, each with their own works in their hands. Plato points the finger of his raised hand upward, as if asserting that the truth is there, in heaven. Aristotle, personifying the empirical view of things, points to the earth as the basis of all knowledge and thought. “The School of Athens” is one of the most interesting creations of Raphael. In this work, Raphael has already reached the pinnacle of his talent, in it one can feel everything new that Raphael acquired in Rome - in the Rome of Leo X (successor of Julius II from 1513) with his secular-humanistic court, in that Rome in which man was understood without a mystical-religious shell, in the fullness of his true vital forces and capabilities. In this fresco, all people are independent, exalted individuals, endowed with a perfect spiritual and physical makeup. With an overall strict classical composition, the significance of each individual figure is not diminished, and each figure is artistically independent and individual.

In the fresco “The School of Athens,” despite Raphael’s desire to give the faces too solemn pathos of thought, despite the constraining symmetrical composition, the types of philosophers, their faces and poses still retain the power of truthfulness. These are the faces of ordinary people, inspired by an all-consuming thought, a desire to resolve troubling issues. Some figures achieve almost genre-like liveliness; These are a group of thinkers using a compass to check the correctness of a figure drawn in chalk on a slate board, and the figure of a young man leaning against a column and in an uncomfortable position, intently writing something down in his notebook. The faces of the group located on the left side on the lower steps of the temple are passionately tense; Particularly interesting is the face of the old thinker, trying to look over his neighbor’s shoulder into the book he is holding in his hands.

This idealization of human power and strength is the apogee of humanistic philosophy. Here, however, another side of Raphael’s work clearly appears: it is easy to notice that the theme of the work and its execution are close to the humanistic culture of the Roman court with its academic interests aimed at issues of style, form, and rhetoric. In Rome, the artist ceased to be an Umbrian or Florentine master. Raphael acquired all the colorfulness and realism of his work in Republican Florence, but with his soft, pliable nature, Raphael turned out to be the most Roman of the Renaissance artists.

For all their nobility, faces are often completely folkish - there is no deliberate sophistication in them, they are not divorced from life. True, Raphael idealizes, but he idealizes, creating these people seized by a single high impulse, real life. Here are young, tender faces, still covered with down, and ugly heads of elders. Lots of variety in movements, facial expressions and poses. Everything is full of life and truth. The artist does not resort to implausible exaggerations or exaggerated poses in order to show a beautiful, majestic picture of triumph, a celebration of human thought.

Raphael is often accused of being cold and academic, especially in his works of the Roman period. In the frescoes of the Heliodorus Hall in the Vatican or the &laqborder: 0px none;border: 0px none;text-align: center;text-align: center;uo;Fire of the Borgo hall,” idealization takes on a tinge of formality. There is already something operatic in The Expulsion of Heliodorus. The arrangement of the figures itself is theatrical: on the right is a group of temple robbers and a horseman sent by heaven, who swung at Heliodor, who had already been thrown to the ground, on the left are believers, struck by heavenly punishment, frightened and touched. The deliberately correct arrangement of figures distracts from the inner meaning. There is no warmth or concrete feeling of living reality in the composition; There is something artificial in the figures, so beautifully arranged, as if the artist’s main concern was to provide a pleasant visual impression. The same can be said about the frescoes “Bolsen Mass”, “Atilla Stopped at the Gates of Rome”. All these frescoes, as well as the frescoes “The Fire of Borgo” and “The Liberation of St. Peter from Prison,” were supposed to glorify the hierarchy, the greatness of the church and the power of the popes. Historical or biblical topics acquired topical interpretation. Despite the dramatic concept of the fresco “The Expulsion of Heliodorus”, in general the picture makes a cold impression.

The fresco “Bolsen Mass” revives an old myth in order to glorify the firmness of the faith of Pope Julius II and to frighten and reproach not only the laity in this difficult era for religion, but also to call to order the daring priests who dare to doubt the “wonderful sacraments” of the church. And yet the individual faces in this fresco are beautifully done. On the right side were the soldiers guarding the pope or his bearers. They noticed the miracle that had taken place later than others and were rather indifferent to it. Obviously, the artist was not very keen to include them in the general mood of the picture. These are calm, clear profiles of completely worldly people who are far from what is happening. The main feature of their faces is a calm nobility, reminiscent of the faces of the best figures of the Florentine masters.

Attila stopped at the gates of Rome

Exile of Heliodor

Vatican frescoes by Raphael are located in four rooms: “Signature”, Heliodor, “Fire in the Borgo”, Constantine. In the Signatura and Heliodor halls, Raphael painted all the frescoes himself, resorting to only minor help from his students; in the Fire of Borgo hall, Raphael painted only the fresco, after which the entire hall is named - in the remaining frescoes his students took a large part: Giovanni da Oudinot, Giulio Romano and Francesco Penni. In the Hall of Constantine, none of the frescoes were painted by Raphael himself. Raphael prepared cardboards, which his students transferred to the walls. The most significant of the frescoes in this hall, “The Victory of Constantine,” had not yet been begun in the year of Raphael’s death. This is the most grandiose depiction of battle in the entire history of painting.

While working on the Vatican frescoes, Raphael, with the energy of a true Renaissance man, worked on a number of other works. During these same years, his best Madonnas were created. From 1509 to 1520 he wrote more than twenty of them. The so-called “Madonnas of the Roman period” are distinguished by their great maturity of talent and the clarity of the ideal expressed in them. Raphael created a type of woman-mother, filled with extraordinary charm. The faces of his Madonnas, always retaining their amazing earthly spirituality, are infinitely varied in expression in each individual picture.

Madonna Di Foligno

Madonna of Loreto

Madonna Alba

Madonna and Child and St. John the Baptist, St. Elizabeth and St. Ekaterina

Ecstasy of St. Cecilia

Carrying the cross

During these same years, a wealthy Roman banker who loved art commissioned Raphael Sanzio to paint the frescoes “The Triumph of Galatea” and the myth of Psyche and Cupid in his Villa Farnesina. The artist depicted Galatea based on the poem by Angelo Poliziano - the court poet of Lorenzo the Magnificent expressed in these verses his keen sense of external picturesqueness to the fullest. Raphael's Galatea stands on a large shell, which is pulled by dolphins harnessed to it. The figure and pose of Galatea are taken from ancient monuments. She is almost naked, her clothes flutter in the wind and allow you to admire the lovely forms of the young girl. There is a lot of movement in the picture, all the figures are given in restless turns. The feeling of movement should be intensified by the cupids still hovering in the clouds, aiming from all sides at Galatea floating on the waves. But, despite the abundance of movement, the faces of all the figures, including Galatea, are motionless and little expressive. The decorative quality of the picture is enhanced by the strangely painted sea. The painting was restored many times, and the sea was subjected to the most merciless “processing”. This significantly changed the entire character of the painting, although the main thing - its patterned decorativeness - of course remained.

Villa Farnesina

Triumph of Galatea

Cupid and the Three Graces

Cupid and Jupiter talk about Psyche

Venus on a chariot drawn by pigeons

Venus, Ceres and Juno

Psyche carries a vessel to Venus

Psyche gives Venus a vessel

Wedding celebration of Cupid and Psyche

Council of the Gods

Next, Raphael covered with frescoes the vaulted ceiling of one of the rooms of the Villa Farnesina and a whole gallery of loggias. As the subject for these frescoes, Raphael took scenes from the myth of Cupid and Psyche in the form in which this myth was developed in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and partly from Apuleius and Theocritus. These scenes, ten in all, depict the story of Cupid and Psyche, with the participation of Venus and many other gods of Olympus. The cartons for these frescoes were painted in 1518, that is, at a time when Raphael was already engaged in architecture, supervising the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral, archaeological research, the protection of ancient monuments and the restoration of ancient Rome. Raphael was extremely interested in the works of art of the classical ancient world and showed his knowledge of ancient sculpture in depicting a cycle of scenes about Cupid and Psyche. During these years, Raphael created only cardboards, occasionally drawing on and correcting the main figures. The Farnesina frescoes are famous for their exceptionally interesting depictions of the Greco-Roman gods.

The graceful everyday scenes, symbolic allusions and playful details of these frescoes bear little resemblance to the majestic gods of classical Greece. Psyche, this most beautiful of mortal women, who aroused the jealousy of the goddess of beauty herself, in Raphael is a wonderful healthy girl experiencing the complex vicissitudes of a love story: she is thrilled in the arms of the crafty boy Cupid, then she goes with Mercury to Olympus, with her face illuminated by the smile of victory and triumph .

The frescoes look almost idyllic, depicting Venus showing people to Cupid, or Cupid seeking sympathy from the three graces and entrusting them with Psyche for protection from Venus. This entire series concludes with a large panel, “The Feast of the Gods,” which depicts thirty gods reconciled with the invasion of the mortal beauty Psyche into their midst. Despite the abundance of figures, the picture produces a surprisingly solid impression, as they are well positioned. The decorative intention of the artist, who depicted the noisy Olympic fun, is extremely clear in this panel. There is something pastoral in the feigned seriousness of Jupiter, and in all the gracefully merry gods, on whom flowers and angelic creatures with butterfly wings rain down. These are not the powerful titans of Michelangelo, not the majestic Olympians of Homer, but the mannered, ennobled characters of Ovid’s Metamorphoses: everything that is too sensual, harsh, stormy is softened and calmed. In this amazing decorative painting, Raphael, more than in other paintings, expressed the essence of his age.

Pope Leo X was inexhaustible in his demands and did not recognize the limits of creative imagination and simply physical fatigue in the artist. Now, after finishing the Farnesina frescoes, Raphael, on behalf of the Pope, was to paint the second tier of boxes adjacent to the Vatican courtyard with frescoes. To decorate these boxes, Raphael painted fifty-two cartons of a decorative nature and covered a huge expanse of walls with decorative patterns and architectural motifs. Raphael created an extraordinary variety of paintings, patterns and ornaments that together form a charming whole. Everything is brought into harmony, sounds like one powerful artistic chord. Raphael painted his frescoes based on biblical (creation of the world, expulsion from paradise, the appearance of God to Isaac, etc.) and mythological (gods, geniuses, extraordinary animals) motifs, without abandoning the themes of modern life. So, on one of the frescoes he depicted artists at work.

The frescoes of the Vatican lodges are far from equal in artistic merit. It is believed that some of them were even created in cardboards by his students. Ten years after their execution, many were spoiled by bad weather, because they were painted in an open gallery, which was glazed only in the 19th century. These frescoes are interesting to us as evidence of Raphael’s inexhaustible creative genius, amazing efficiency and versatility of his talent. The artist, without delving deeply into the content of biblical legends, created these frescoes called “Raphael’s Bible.” God floats freely in airless space and effortlessly creates everything that is due to him: the abyss and the firmament, the sky and the moon. He is depicted as a cheerful, healthy, bearded old man; his head is covered with a thick cap of gray hair. There's something genre-bending about The Making of Eve; God is a deep, but strong old man, and young, with half-childish forms, Eva is very touching in her innocence.

At the same time, Raphael worked on many paintings, decorating the Vatican boxes, creating his Madonnas, painting portraits, restoring ancient Rome and composing sonnets, very poetic and lyrical. Raphael showed his subtle knowledge of ancient Roman art in many works. Particularly interesting in this regard is the painting of Cardinal Bibiena's bathroom. It is executed in the late antique style, on a dark red background, with scenes taken from ancient mythology.

Leo X decided to decorate the parts of the Sistine Chapel free from frescoes with rich gold-woven carpets and commissioned Raphael to paint cardboards for these carpets. It was supposed to weave ten carpets, depicting various acts of the apostles on them. The borders of the carpets, woven in bronze, depicted episodes from the life of the pope. The carpets were woven in factories for three years and, when they were hung in the Sistine Chapel, they made a stunning impression. Indeed, Raphael's cartons depicting the acts of the apostles are absolutely extraordinary in their strength and simplicity. As mentioned above, all of Raphael's work from the Roman period is marked by a certain amount of pomp, official beauty and exquisite perfection. Only his portraits and Madonnas largely escaped this seal; the same can be said about cardboards. Specifically about cardboards, and not about carpets, because the latter have suffered so much from time and accidents, not to mention the impossibility of conveying in fabric all the subtleties of the artist’s plan, that it is very difficult to judge Raphael from them. The fate of the cardboards was also not very happy. They were left in a factory in Brussels where carpets were woven, and no one cared about their preservation. Some of the cardboards went missing; preserved - only in the 17th century. were accidentally discovered by Rubens, who persuaded the English king Charles I to purchase them.

The most interesting in terms of the theme and its resolution are the carpets “Wonderful Catch” and “Feed My Sheep.” As with other carpets, what is striking here is the amazing simplicity and realistic interpretation of the plot. We see an ordinary countryside: a landscape stretches in the distance, creating a background for the whole picture and depicting a hill on which villages, groves, and churches are located. The foreground is occupied by the figures of the apostles. Both Christ and his disciples have nothing religious in them, which is especially clear in the “Wonderful Catch” carpet, which essentially depicts the ordinary fishing of Italian peasants. The healthy, strong bodies of the apostles are dressed in a short dress that reveals almost the entire body and exposes muscles and muscles; The faces of the two students pulling the nets express tension, as do their busy hands. The apprentice operating the boat is passionate about his work; his figure bent in an awkward position in order to keep the boat in balance. The Apostles Paul and Andrew, expressing their faith and gratitude, pleasure and tenderness to Christ, are simple in their folk appearance. The realistic interpretation of the religious theme is free, not constrained by any traditions. All this shows that Raphael is not looking for the effects of external beauty. Christ sits on the stern in a calm pose; he differs from the apostles in his clothing and in his more subtle, spiritual expression. In the foreground of the painting are three cranes. Birds make a slightly strange impression in such close proximity to people. There was a lot of debate about whether Raphael himself drew these birds or whether some student painted them later. Be that as it may, it must be said that birds only enhance the impression of the extraordinary nature of the moment, trustingly approaching people, stretching out their heads to them.

The cardboard “Feed My Sheep” is of great interest due to its extraordinary depth and clarity of psychological characteristics. Christ, a handsome, slender, blond man with a majestic and bright face, stands a little further away, separate from the group of apostles, and turns to Peter, showing him preference. The faces of the apostles are interesting: some of them express feelings of joy and reverence; others standing further away are either struck by a sudden sobering skeptical thought, or simply irritated and angry. The last apostle in the group clutches a book to his chest, this symbol of knowledge, not faith, and is about to leave.

In the painting “The Healing of the Lame by Saint Peter and Saint John,” in addition to the interesting decorative composition, the figure of a crippled beggar, located at the right column of the temple, is of absolutely exceptional interest. Against the background of columns, richly and sumptuously ornamented, intertwined with garlands of grape leaves with cupids skillfully woven into them, ugly beggars and cripples, emaciated by old age and illness, are shown. The face of a cripple, watching from behind the columns the “miracle” of healing a lame man, has an indescribable expression. Mistrust and hope, envy and skeptical indifference - a whole range of feelings was reflected on this face. He leans his still strong hands on the staff - an ugly pose, but very lively. Sparse vegetation covers his face and head. The roguish face of the beggar expresses the highest degree of surprise, his upper lip is bitten. In the 16th century art could still create such a portrait, devoid of false idealization, remaining within the framework of calm, truthful realism, but free from unnecessary naturalistic details.

The cardboard “The Death of Ananias” conveys the moment of the biblical legend when Peter said to Ananias, who had withheld money from the sold land: “You lied not to man, but to God! “And, having heard these words, Ananias fell lifeless to the ground, and great fear seized everyone...” The individual faces of the apostles and just people from the crowd are beautiful. The faces of the apostles are simple, rough. They are realistically alive, these powerful people, full of dignity and moral strength. The extraordinary richness of portrait characteristics and the sense of greatness of the characters place Raphael's cardboards among those best creations of the 16th century that complete the ideals of Renaissance art.

Death of Ananias

Wonderful catch

Sacrifice in Lystra

Healing of the lame man by Saint Peter and Saint John

Punishment of Elim

Feed my sheep

Saint Paul's Sermon

Tapestries

Raphael's cartons are called the Parthenon marble of modern times, the highest manifestation of the genius of the era. They are placed on a par with Leonardo's Last Supper and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. Nevertheless, it should be noted that this high review of Raphael’s carpets is fair if we talk only about individual images, which undoubtedly represent masterpieces of world art. In the compositions, even carpets are subordinated to that “classical” harmony, which often robs them of warmth and vitality. Thus, the figures are arranged in a beautifully curved elliptical line around the compositional center of Ananias, writhing in convulsions. The folds of the apostles' cloaks are arranged decoratively, which together represent some kind of theatrical spectacle. The exemplary correctness of the composition gives the whole picture a rhetorical character. Few carpets have escaped the stamp of a cold classical composition: “Wonderful Catch” should be considered one of them first of all.

But in these works, Raphael is already quite an artist of the new time, he has moved away from the naivety of the early Italian artists. Raphael, like the best Quattrocentists and especially the great artists of the 16th century, makes the religious subject something secondary. In his paintings, people with completely earthly moods live and act - pensive, like the Sistine Madonna, or joyful, like Psyche, inspired by thought, like the philosophers of the School of Athens, or angry, like the apostles in “The Death of Ananias.” The progress in his art is that, as a typical representative of the Italian High Renaissance of the 16th century. in particular (with his special clarity of classical taste) - he cultivates a strict principle. True, under the influence of Roman humanism, clarity and discipline deprive the painting of vital warmth.

In Rome, Raphael achieved enormous heights in the field of portrait art. During his stay in Florence, the artist painted several portraits. But they were still student works and bore traces of many influences. In Rome, Raphael created more than fifteen portraits. Apparently, the portrait of Pope Julius II was painted first. It is not known whether the original is preserved in the Pitti and Uffizi galleries, because in both galleries there are identical copies of portraits attributed to Raphael. In any case, these portraits very realistically depict a pale, sickly-looking old man in a red cap and a short red cape; the elder sits in a chair, placing his ring-covered hands on the arms of the chair. Dad's hands are expressive - not senilely weak and weak-willed, but full of life and energy.

Portrait of Leo X with Cardinals Giuliano de' Medici and Luigi Rossi

Portrait of Francesco Maria Della Rovere (Portrait of a Young Man with an Apple)

Portrait of Elizabeth Gonzaga

Pregnant woman

Lady with a unicorn

Portrait of Maddalena Doni

Portrait of a young woman

Portrait of a Cardinal

Raphael Santi was born in the city of Urbino in 1483, on April 6. His interest in painting began quite early. His father Giovanni Santi worked as a court painter for the Duke of Urbino, Federigo da Montefeltro. During the time that Raphael was with his father, he had the opportunity to study the basics of painting. At the age of 8, Rafael lost his mother, and at 11, his father. Thanks to the care of his stepmother and the sufficient amount of money that remained after his father’s death, the master never struggled for his dignified existence. In addition, he was friends with the Italian masters of that time. Through these connections, Rafael was able to become quite successful in his career quite early on.

His father, while he was still alive, apparently managed to provide training for the young master. In 1500, Raphael became a student of Pietro Perugino, who was a successful artist in the city of Perugia. Within four years, Raphael had mastered Perugino's technique so well that it became almost impossible to distinguish between their works. By December of the same year, Raphael had earned the title of master from some quarters. His first known work was an altarpiece for a church that was halfway between the city of his birth and Perugia. He was assisted by his senior comrade Evangelista Pian di Meleto. The artist worked on many other projects with Raphael's father. The young master continued to work as an assistant to Perugino until he moved to Florence.

In Florence it became obvious to him that his style needed some changes, given the latest innovative styles of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. However, the artist who influenced him most undoubtedly remained the same. His influence can be seen in Raphael's painting The Sistine Madonna. However, although he adopted the styles of various masters of the time, he continued to use his own unique style. A work in which one could already see more of the style characteristic of Raphael - “The Beautiful Gardener” (La Belle Jardinire) or “Madonna and Child with John the Baptist,” as it is also called.

In 1508, Raphael moved to work for the Vatican in Rome. He lived the rest of his life here. His influential family connections also played a huge role in his invitation to the Vatican. With the assistance of his uncle Donato Bramante (a famous architect and painter of the time), Rafael Santi became the official artist of the papal court. He, at the invitation of Pope Julius II, arrives to fulfill the order of frescoing the Stanza della Segnatura, first before Michelangelo, who receives an official invitation a few months later. Raphael's first commissioned work in Rome was his largest and highest paying commission ever. He was to paint frescoes in what was to become the library of Julius II in the Vatican Palace. There were already similar works in different rooms, but they were mostly painted over, as they were commissioned by the predecessor and worst enemy of Pope Julius II, Rodrigo Borgia, Pope Alexander VI. The works of Raphael in this room were some of the artist's best works. These include Parnassus, The School of Athens, Disputations, Virtues and Law.

In order to paint these famous works, he had to paint over some other works. However, Pope Julius II decided that these works were of less importance. After completing the work in the first room, Pope Julius II was very impressed and decided to commission the artist to paint in another room for further work. The second room in which Raphael worked is called Stanza d'Eliodoro. In this room, Raphael mainly focuses on God's protection of human activity. The influence of Michelangelo is clearly visible in these works. However, as has been the case throughout his career, the artist manages to use his own style, while still using many techniques from other masters. At one time, Michelangelo was quite irritated by Raphael's unique skill in quickly adopting the techniques of other artists. He even accused the artist of plagiarism.

While Raphael was working on the second hall, Pope Julius II died. However, this did not affect his work in any way. The next Pope Leo X was also delighted with Raphael's skill and supported the continuation of the painting. In addition, his complex network of friends played a significant role in providing the artist with orders, in such quantities that he would probably never be left without work. Rafael Santi continued to work on the project, but already played a smaller role in it. To complete it, he began to send a team of his assistants. His large and complex works for him, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo came to define the century in which they lived.

At the end of his life, Raphael continued to receive a salary from the Vatican. However, he also received numerous other orders. His most notable projects outside the Vatican are a series of altarpieces and Roman Madonnas. These works demonstrate an evolution in Raphael's style. In fact, he continued to develop until his death. In addition, he made a series of portraits. Among them are portraits of Pope Julius II and his successor.

His studio has been described as one of the largest ever owned by a craftsman. Undoubtedly, he adopted much of the experience of running a workshop from his father. Unlike the workshop organized by Michelangelo, Raphael's workshop worked more quickly and productively.

The artist managed not only to organize a whole subcontract of craftsmen and their assistants, but also to maintain good working relationships with all of them. His workshop was credited with developing the talent of some of the greatest masters of the time.

When Bramante died, Raphael was appointed chief architect of St. Peter's Basilica. In 1515 he also received the position of chief custodian of antiquities. Most of his works were subsequently demolished as they were, to some extent, gloomy. However, some of his works as an architect are still preserved in Rome.

Raphael often drew pictures, sometimes using a silver tip. A drawing made in this way is initially bluish-gray in color. Gradually, after oxidation, it acquires a brownish tint. As can be seen from his numerous drawings, he was a very innovative artist. Raphael never made copies of his works, but willingly collaborated with other artists and allowed them to use his sketches to create engravings.

The artist has never been married. For some time he was infatuated with Margherita Luti (Fornarina - baker), the daughter of a rich baker.

According to one version, numerous noisy games with his mistresses led to his premature death at thirty-seven years old. But still, this version is the subject of serious controversy. According to another version, he fell ill after having sex with Fornarina. But if we take into account the large amount of work that the artist performed, the morals of those times, the general state of health of the population of that century and the fact that then people generally did not live long, we can assume that all this together, in general, could have caused Raphael’s early death. In any case, after so many hundreds of years since his death, one can now only speculate about its cause, since some biographical facts remain unknown, and instead of them many conjectures, rumors, fantasies and conjectures have appeared. The artist bequeathed his considerable fortune to Margarita Luti, friends and students. After his death, Raphael was buried in the Pantheon, at his own request.

Without a doubt, Raphael is one of the leading artists of the Renaissance. Together with Titian, Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, and a small group of contemporaries, Raphael became the center of a movement of artistic figures who enriched not only Western but also world culture with their masterpieces.

"Sistine Madonna". The painting measures 196 cm x 265 cm and was done in oil on canvas in 1514. Located in the Old Masters Gallery, Dresden, Germany.

“The Beautiful Gardener” (Madonna with Child and John the Baptist), measuring 80 cm. 122 cm. Made in oil on panel around 1507. Located in the Louvre, Paris.

"Madonna and the Goldfinch." The painting measures 77 cm x 107 cm and was done in oil on panel in 1506. Located in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy.

"Madonna in Green" (Belvedere Madonna). The painting measures 88 cm x 113 cm and was done in oil on panel in 1506. Located in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria.

"Madonna Conestabile". The painting measures 18 cm x 17.5 cm, made in oil in 1504, transferred from wood to canvas. Located in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.

"Madonna in a Chair" The painting measures 71 cm x 71 cm and was done in oil in 1514. Located in Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy.

"Madonna Granduca" The painting measures 55.9 cm x 84.4 cm and was done in oil on panel in 1504. Located in the Palatine Gallery of Palazzo Pitti, Florence.

"Madonna Alba". The painting is in the form of a tondo, measuring 94.5 cm x 94.5 cm, painted in 1511, and transferred in oil to canvas. Located in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA.

"Madonna Tempi" The painting measures 51 cm x 75 cm and was done in oil on panel in 1507. Located in the Alte Pinakothek art gallery, Munich, Germany.

"Madonna Foligno". The painting measures 194 cm x 320 cm, made in 1512, transferred in oil to canvas. Located in the Vatican Pinacoteca.

"Three Graces". The painting measures 17 cm x 17 cm and was done in oil on panel in 1504. Located in the Condé Museum, Chantilly, France.

"Cardinal Bibbiena". The portrait measures 76 cm x 107 cm, painted in oil on panel, around 1516, located in Palazzo Pitti.

The portrait of Baldassare Castiglione (Count of Novilara, Italian writer) measures 67 cm x 82 cm, executed in oil on panel around 1515, now in the Louvre, Paris.

"Lady with a Unicorn" The portrait of a woman measures 61 cm x 65 cm, executed in oil on panel around 1506, located in the Galleria Borghese, Rome.

"Julius II". The portrait of the 216th Pope Giuliano della Rovere measures 81 cm x 108 cm, executed in oil on panel in 1511, located in the London National Gallery, Great Britain.

"Fornarina". The portrait presumably depicts Raphael's beloved woman. Its size is 60 cm x 85 cm. It was painted in oil on panel in 1519. Located in Palazzo Barberini, Rome.

"The School of Athens" The fresco measuring 770 cm x 500 cm was painted in 1511 in the Stanza della Segnatura, in the Vatican Palace (Apostolic Palace in the Vatican).

"Parnassus". The fresco, 670 cm wide, was painted in 1511 in the Stanza della Segnatura, in the Vatican Palace.

"Disputation". The fresco measures 770 cm x 500 cm, painted in 1510 in Stanza della Segnatura.

"Virtues and Law". The fresco is 660 cm wide and was painted between 1508 and 1511. in Stanza della Segnatura.

Rafael Santi (Italian: Raffaello Santi, Raffaello Sanzio, Rafael, Raffael da Urbino, Rafaelo; March 26 or 28, or April 6, 1483, Urbino - April 6, 1520, Rome) - a great Italian painter, graphic artist and architect, representative of the Umbrian school.

Rafael lost his parents early. The mother, Margie Charla, died in 1491, and the father, Giovanni Santi, died in 1494.
His father was an artist and poet at the court of the Duke of Urbino, and Raphael received his first experience as an artist in his father’s workshop. The earliest work is the Madonna and Child fresco, which is still in the house museum.

Among the first works are the Banner with the Image of the Holy Trinity (circa 1499-1500) and the altar image The Coronation of St. Nicholas of Tolentino" (1500-1501) for the church of Sant'Agostino in Città di Castello.

In 1501, Raphael came to the workshop of Pietro Perugino in Perugia, so the early works were made in the style of Perugino.

At this time, he often leaves Perugia for his home in Urbino, in Città di Castello, visits Siena together with Pinturicchio, and carries out a number of works on orders from Città di Castello and Perugia.

In 1502, the first Raphael Madonna appeared - “Madonna Solly”; Raphael would write Madonnas all his life.

The first paintings not painted on religious themes were “The Knight’s Dream” and “The Three Graces” (both around 1504).

Gradually, Raphael developed his own style and created his first masterpieces - “The Betrothal of the Virgin Mary to Joseph” (1504), “The Coronation of Mary” (circa 1504) for the Oddi altar.

In addition to large altar paintings, he painted small paintings: “Madonna Conestabile” (1502-1504), “St. George Slaying the Dragon” (circa 1504-1505) and portraits - “Portrait of Pietro Bembo” (1504-1506).

In 1504, in Urbino, he met Baldassar Castiglione.

At the end of 1504 he moved to Florence. Here he meets Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Bartolomeo della Porta and many other Florentine masters. Carefully studies the painting techniques of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. A drawing by Raphael from the lost painting by Leonardo da Vinci “Leda and the Swan” and a drawing from “St. Matthew" Michelangelo. “...the techniques that he saw in the works of Leonardo and Michelangelo forced him to work even harder in order to extract from them unprecedented benefits for his art and his manner.”

The first order in Florence comes from Agnolo Doni for portraits of him and his wife, the latter painted by Raphael under the obvious impression of La Gioconda. It was for Agnolo Doni that Michelangelo Buonarroti created the tondo “Madonna Doni” at this time.

Raphael paints altar paintings “Madonna Enthroned with John the Baptist and Nicholas of Bari” (circa 1505), “Entombment” (1507) and portraits - “Lady with a Unicorn” (circa 1506-1507).

In 1507 he met Bramante.

Raphael's popularity is constantly growing, he receives many orders for images of saints - “The Holy Family with St. Elizabeth and John the Baptist" (circa 1506-1507). “Holy Family (Madonna with Beardless Joseph)” (1505-1507), “St. Catherine of Alexandria" (circa 1507-1508).

In Florence, Raphael created about 20 Madonnas. Although the plots are standard: the Madonna either holds the Child in her arms, or he plays next to John the Baptist, all Madonnas are individual and are distinguished by their special maternal charm (apparently, the early death of his mother left a deep mark on Raphael’s soul).

Raphael's growing fame led to an increase in orders for Madonnas; he created the “Madonna of Granduca” (1505), “Madonna of the Carnations” (circa 1506), and “Madonna under the Canopy” (1506-1508). The best works of this period include “Madonna Terranuova” (1504-1505), “Madonna with the Goldfinch” (1506), “Madonna and Child and John the Baptist (The Beautiful Gardener)” (1507-1508).

In the second half of 1508, Raphael moved to Rome (where he would spend the rest of his life) and, with the assistance of Bramante, became the official artist of the papal court. He was commissioned to fresco the Stanza della Segnatura. For this stanza, Raphael painted frescoes reflecting four types of human intellectual activity: theology, jurisprudence, poetry and philosophy - “Disputa” (1508-1509), “Wisdom, Temperance and Strength” (1511), and the most outstanding “Parnassus” (1509 -1510) and the “School of Athens” (1510-1511).

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His brushes include such masterpieces of world painting as “The Sistine Madonna”, “Madonna of Granduca”, “The Three Graces”, “The School of Athens”, etc.

In 1483, in the city of Urbino, a son was born into the family of the painter Giovanni Santi, who was named Raphael. From childhood, he watched his father work in his workshop and learned the art of painting from him. After the death of his father, Raphael ended up in the studio of the great artist in Perugia. It is from this provincial workshop that the biography of Raphael Santi as a painter begins. His first works, which later received recognition from art lovers, were the fresco “Madonna and Child”, the banner depicting the “Holy Trinity”, and the image on the altar “The Coronation of St. Nicholas of Tolentino” for the temple in the city of Città di Castello. These works were written by him at the age of 17. For two or three years, Raphael created paintings exclusively with religious themes. He especially liked to draw Madonnas. During this period, he painted “Madonna Solly”, “Madonna Conestabile”, etc. The first works not on biblical themes were the paintings “The Knight’s Dream” and “The Three Graces”.

Biography of Raphael Santi: Florentine period

In 1504, Raphael moved from Perugia to Florence. Here he meets the greatest artists of the time, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti and other Florentine masters, and their works make a deep impression on him. Raphael begins to study the work techniques of these masters and even makes copies of some paintings. For example, his copy of Leonardo’s canvas “Leda and the Swan” still survives. From Michelangelo, a great master of depicting the human body, he tries to adopt the technique of drawing the correct poses and

Artist Raphael. Biography: Roman period

In 1508, the 25-year-old painter travels to Rome. He is entrusted with the monumental painting of some walls and ceilings in the Vatican Palace. This is where the artist Raphael can truly shine! His biography, starting from this period, leads the master to the pinnacle of glory. His giant fresco "The School of Athens" was recognized as a masterpiece by the highest ecclesiastical officials.

For some time, Rafael Santi supervises the construction. At the same time, he creates several more Madonnas. In 1513, the artist finished working on one of the most famous paintings in world painting - the “Sistine Madonna”, which immortalized his name more than others. Thanks to this painting, he won the favor of Pope Julius II, who appointed him to the position of chief artist of the Apostolic See.

His main job at the papal court was painting the state rooms. However, the artist also managed to paint portraits of noble nobles and made several of his own self-portraits. The entire biography of Rafael Santi is nevertheless connected with painting paintings depicting the Madonna. Subsequently, art critics explained this passion by his desire to find the ideal of purity and purity. More than 200 paintings of the Madonna by Raphael are known to the world, although this is far from an exact number. Raphael Santi died at the age of 37 in Rome, but his paintings have continued to delight connoisseurs of true art for many centuries.

Raphael Santi, the great Italian artist, graphic artist, architect, follower of the Umbrian school of painting, was born on March 28, 1483 in Urbino. The boy was eight years old when his mother died, and three years later he was left without a father. Giovanni Santi was an artist and shortly before his death he managed to introduce his son to the basics of painting.

The beginning of creativity

The first works of Raphael Santi date back to 1496, when the fresco “Madonna and Child” was painted, which today is in his house-museum. Among the works of the early period there are also "The Banner with the Holy Trinity" (1499), the altar icon "The Coronation of St. Nicholas of Tolentino", painted for the church of Sant'Agostino in the suburb of Città di Castello. The early works of Raphael Santi were distinguished by an uncertainty of style, but nevertheless looked like paintings by a fully mature artist.

Studies

In 1501, the painter Santi began studying with the famous artist Pietro Perugino. Working in the workshop of a senior mentor was extremely useful for Raphael. In addition to him, several other students studied with Perugino. All of Raphael Santi's works of that period were written in the style of a teacher. However, he insisted that his most gifted student strive to acquire his own style of painting.

The young artist developed his own style later, towards the end of his studies in the master’s workshop. Some of Rafael Santi's works, paintings, sketches, began to differ significantly from the works of his mentor. Pietro tried to develop the success of his student.

First orders

Raphael Santi, his works, skill and talent became widely known in the area, the highest ranks of the clergy heard about him, and the painter received several lucrative orders for painting temples in Perugia and Città di Castello. This was very useful, since the aspiring artist did not live well and needed funds.

In 1501, Raphael Santi's first Madonna, the Madonna of Solly, was added to his works. The canvas literally breathed church splendor. In the future, the artist will create several more Madonnas in different interpretations. This theme will accompany the painter throughout his short life.

Church theme

Rafael Santi, whose famous works were on a religious theme, nevertheless often turned to the theme of the existence of ordinary people and tried to capture scenes from ordinary life in his paintings. However, over time, church themes absorbed the talented painter; he realized that he could use his art best in churches.

Therefore, at the beginning of the 16th century, he created such masterpieces as “The Coronation” and “The Betrothal of Mary.” Both paintings were painted in 1504 and were intended for the altar. During the same period, Raphael created the paintings “Portrait of Pietro Bembo”, “St. George and his battle with the dragon”, “Madonna Conestabile”.

Michelangelo and others

In December 1504, Raphael Santi left for Florence. There he meets Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Bartolomeo Porta. The style of Michelangelo and Da Vinci inspires Raphael and he begins to study their style of drawing, and for greater clarity, he makes copies of fragments from paintings by great artists. Santi copied da Vinci's canvas "Leda and the Swan" almost completely for himself. He does the same with St. Matthew. Both masters responded favorably to the efforts of the young artist. And he himself decided, if possible, to equal the Florentine masters in the art of painting.

New orders

Santi received his first order after his arrival from the nobleman Agnolo Doni, to create portraits of himself and his wife. The painting depicting a noble woman clearly shows the influence of Leonardo and his La Gioconda. The artist called the portrait “Madonna Doni”.

Having completed the order of Signor Agnolo, Raphael began to paint the altar paintings “Lady with a Unicorn”, “Enthronement”, “Madonna Enthroned with Nicola of Bari and John the Baptist”. The artist’s popularity is growing, he paints many holy images, including “The Saint (1507), “The Holy Family” (1508), “Saint Elizabeth with John the Baptist” (1509), “Madonna and Joseph the Beardless” (1509) .

The main theme in Raphael's work

While in Florence, Santi painted more than twenty Madonnas. The subjects were the same: either a baby in his arms, or he is playing not far from John the Baptist, who was also often depicted in the painting. All Madonnas on canvases were depicted with the stamp of maternal care on their faces. Among their images of that period, the following stand out: “Madonna of Granduca” (1505), “Madonna of Terranuova” (1505), “Madonna under the Canopy” (1506), “Madonna of the Carnations” (1506), “Madonna of the Goldfinch” ( 1506), "The Beautiful Gardener" (1508).

Vatican

At the end of 1509, Raphael left for Rome, where he would live until his death. With the assistance of Santi, he becomes the court artist of the Papal Residence. He is instructed to paint four rooms of the palace, the so-called “stanzas,” with frescoes. Raphael chooses themes that reflect various types of intellectual activity of mankind: philosophy, poetry, theology and jurisprudence. In each of the rooms the painter places frescoes in accordance with the planned plan. received the names "Justice", "Dispute", "Parnassus" and

Life's work

The world-famous one created in 1513 is considered the most important masterpiece of the painter. Raphael painted a painting commissioned by the Church of Saint Sixtus in Piacenza. This is an incredibly integral piece of highly artistic work; it amazes with its elegant interweaving of lines, everything is subordinated to the elusive rhythm of internal harmony. The canvas is large, but all the smallest details are visible to the eye.

"The Triumph of Galatea"

The famous philanthropist and patron of the arts, Italian Augustino Chigi invited Raphael Santi to decorate his country villa on the banks of the Tiber with frescoes. Preference was given to subjects from the mythology of antiquity. This is how the masterpiece “The Triumph of Galatea” appeared. The fresco depicted prophets and sibyls. The painting is considered one of the artist's best works.

Madonnas

Rafael Santi, whose most famous works are certainly “Madonnas,” painted paintings in one go. Saint Mary and the Child, this subject was used by the artist most often. Sometimes he added John the Baptist, which organically linked with the main image. In total, Raphael's "Madonnas" are more than forty paintings, these are those that are in museums. It is in the exhibition collections that the best paintings by such a great artist as Rafael Santi are found. The works, the list of which is given below, are Madonnas depicted by the painter throughout his short but fruitful life.

"Sistine Madonna" - (1513-1514), art gallery in Dresden.
"Madonna Solly" (1500-1504), Berlin Art Gallery.
"Madonna Diotalevi" (1504), in Berlin.
"Madonna Granduca" (1504), Florence, Palazzo Pitti.
"Madonna of Orleans" (1506), Condé Museum, France.
"Holy Family with Palm" (1506), National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh.
"Madonna of the Green" (1506), Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
"Madonna with the Goldfinch" (1506), Uffizi Gallery, Florence.
"The Beautiful Gardener" (1507), Louvre, Paris.
"Great Madonna of Cowper" (1508), Washington.
"Madonna of Foligno" (1511-1512), Vatican.
"Holy Family under the Oak" (1518), Prado Museum, Madrid.
"Madonna of Divine Love" (1518), National Museum, Naples.
"Esterhazy Madonna" (1508), Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.

All other works by Rafael Santi, photos of which are in catalogs dedicated to his work, can be found in registers and reference books on the art of painting.
In the period from 1513 to 1516, Raphael Santi was engaged in another papal order, making sketches for tapestries of the Sistine Chapel, there are only ten of them. Only seven drawings have reached us. Then Raphael, together with his students, painted the loggias that overlooked the Vatican courtyard. In total, fifty-two frescoes were made on the main biblical subjects.

New positions

In March 1514, Donato Bramante died, and the pope handed over the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral to the leadership of Raphael Santi. A year later, the artist received the position of keeper of antiquities of the Vatican. In 1515, the famous Albrecht Durer visited the Vatican, whose engravings by that time had already created a sensation throughout the world. He meets Rafael, and since then both have been trying to be in creative contact, since Germany and Italy are nearby.

The final

Raphael Santi's last dying work was "The Transfiguration", written in 1518-1520. The upper part of the canvas is given to the biblical story of the miracle of the transfiguration of Christ before James, Peter and John. At the bottom are the apostles and the demon-possessed youth. Raphael did not finish the painting; it was completed after the master’s death by the painter Giulio Romano.

The great artist died in April 1520, at the age of 37, from a viral fever. Buried in the Pantheon.