Resplendent Raphael
Raphael Sanzi was infamous among his peer group, that included Michelangelo, for
his sweet natured charm. He was not the tortured artist, far from it. He
possessed excellent social skills. Vasari described him as "gentle and
charitable".
Raphael was born in Urbino, Italy on August 6,
1483. He was the son of Giovanni Santi,
a painter and writer, who died when his son was only eleven.
Perugino was a strong influence on the young Raphael. Both were noted for
including a detailed background in their works.
Urbino
Raphael spent considerable time in Florence. From 1504 - 1508 though he
didn't actually reside in the city. It was during this period that he
painted many works of the Holy Family. One of the divine advisers to Joan
of Arc, was Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Catherine's debating skills and
ability to convert doubters to Christianity caused Emperor Maximus to order
her imprisonment and torture. Miraculously, she touched the implement of
torture, the wheel, and it disintegrated. Maximus then ordered her
beheading. Raphael's Saint Catherine of Alexandria is an excellent example of Raphael's
tendency to include a highly detailed background.
Rome
Raphael's images of the Holy Family often show the
tenderness between parents and children, meant as an example to everyday
families.
Madonna of the Pinks, is the centerpiece in the exhibit
Raphael: From Urbino to Rome opening October 20 at the National
Gallery, London running through January 16, 2005.
The National Gallery recently bought the Madonna of the Pinks from
The Duke of Northumberland, purchasing the work for
£22 million.
The image is of a young Mary playing with her infant son. In her hand she
holds a flower that has captured the child's attention.
Christ playfully rides a lamb under the careful eyes of Mary
and Joseph as Raphael envisioned a touching family scene in The Holy
Family with the Lamb.
The work was painted in Florence shortly before the artist's move to
Rome.
By this time he had been influenced by the works of Michelangelo and Da
Vinci. It shows his growing maturity as an artist especially in capturing
the figures' expressions.
The figures are both human and divine, a quality that Raphael mastered in
his paintings. The Virgin and the Child with Saint John, also known
as the Alba Madonna, provides an incredible sense of foreshadowing of
future events in the lives of the figures involved.
John the Baptist hands a reed, shaped like a cross, to his cousin Jesus.
Christ was believed to
have known his fate from birth, which is the central theme of this work.
Though painted in Rome the circular format was more common in Florence at
the time but Raphael used it here.
Pope Julius II commissioned Raphael to fresco the Stanza del Signatura rooms while
Michelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel. From then on Raphael worked for the Papacy first Julius II and later for Leo X.
After a night of carousing, Raphael died on April 6, 1520,
his 37th birthday
Raphael: From Urbino to Rome
October 20, 2004 through January 16 2005
The National Gallery
Trafalgar Square, London
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