In what century was Rafael Santi born? Raffaello Santi

He was buried in the Church of St. Sixtus, under the same “Sistine Madonna”, for which, two centuries later, they would pay almost 100 kg of gold and take him to Germany. But Margarita was not allowed to attend the funeral service - no one believed that she had long been the secretly married wife of a genius. Raphael was buried in the Pantheon, where the remains of the greatest people of Italy rest.
The artist’s students blamed the unfaithful Margarita for the death of their teacher and vowed to take revenge because through a series of countless betrayals she broke the heart of a great man.

Frightened Margarita ran to her father, in whose house she had been hiding for some time. Here she once came face to face with her ex-fiancé Tomaso, who, by her grace, spent five years in monastic confinement. Margarita found nothing better than to try to seduce him, and bared her lush shoulders in front of the shepherd. He, grabbing a handful of earth, threw it in the face of his ex-fiancee and left, never to see the woman who had ruined his life again.

The inheritance left by Rafael would be enough for the frivolous Fornarine to change her life and become a decent woman. But, having felt the taste of carnal love and a carefree life, having gotten to know the most famous men of Rome, she did not want to change anything. Until the end of her days, Margarita Luti remained a courtesan. She died in the monastery, but the cause of her death is unknown.

Raphael's picturesque creations decorate the most famous museums in the world. Moreover, thanks to them, in particular, these museums became famous. Millions of people every year freeze in admiration before the image of the “Sistine Madonna,” which has long become the main treasure of the Dresden Gallery. They look with tenderness at a beautiful, unearthly woman holding out a trusting baby from heaven to them... But few people know that the earthly flesh of the woman depicted in the picture is not Yes, it belonged to the most voluptuous and dissolute courtesan of Italy - the one who destroyed a genius in the prime of his powers and talent.

However, in the literature there is also another version of the events described. Raphael fell in love with the depraved Roman maiden from the very beginning, knew her value very well, but in the immoral atmosphere of the court of the pope-philanthropists he was not embarrassed to use her in marriage. the honor of the model when painting the faces of the Mother of God. .

Rafael Santi (Raffaello Santi) is an Italian artist, master of graphics and architectural solutions, representative of the Umbrian school of painting.

Raphael Santi was born at three o'clock in the morning into the family of an artist and decorator on April 6, 1483 in the Italian city (Urbino). It is the cultural and historical center of the region (Marche) in eastern Italy. The resort towns of Pesaro and Rimini are located near Raphael's birthplace.

Parents

The father of the future celebrity, Giovanni Santi, worked in the castle of the Duke of Urbino Federico da Montefeltro, his mother Margie Charla did housework.

The father early noticed his son's ability to paint and often took him with him to the palace, where the boy communicated with such famous artists as Piero della Francesca, Paolo Uccello and Luca Signorelli.

School in Perugia

At the age of 8, Rafael lost his mother and his father brought into the house a new wife, Bernardina, who did not show love for someone else's child. At the age of 12, the boy was left an orphan., having lost his father. The trustees sent the young talent to study with Pietro Vannucci in Perugia.

Until 1504, Raphael was educated at the school of Perugino, enthusiastically studying the teacher’s skills and trying to imitate him in everything. Friendly, charming, and devoid of arrogance, the young man made friends everywhere and quickly adopted the experience of his teachers. Soon his works became impossible to distinguish from the works of Pietro Perugino.

Raphael's first famous masterpieces were paintings:

1. “The Betrothal of the Virgin Mary” (Lo sposalizio della Vergine), 1504, exhibited in the Milan Gallery (Pinacoteca di Brera);
2. “Madonna Connestabile”, 1504, belongs to the Hermitage (St. Petersburg);
3. “The Dream of a Knight” (Sogno del cavaliere), 1504, the painting is exhibited in the National Gallery in London;
4. “The Three Graces” (Tre Grazie), 1504, is exhibited at the Musée Condé in Château de Chantilly, France;

The influence of Perugino is clearly visible in the works; Raphael began to create his own style a little later.

In Florence

In 1504, Raphael Santi moved to (Firenze), following his teacher Perugino. Thanks to the teacher, the young man met the architectural genius Baccio d'Agnolo, the outstanding sculptor Andrea Sansovino, the painter Bastiano da Sangallo and his future friend and protector Taddeo Taddei. . A meeting with Leonardo da Vinci had a significant impact on Raphael's creative process. A copy of the painting “Leda and the Swan” belonging to Raphael has survived to this day (unique in that the original itself has not survived).

Under the influence of new teachers, Rafael Santi, while living in Florence, creates more than 20 Madonnas, putting into them his longing for the love and affection he did not receive from his mother. The images breathe love, are tender and sophisticated.

In 1507, the artist took an order from Atalanta Baglióni, whose only son died. Rafael Santi creates the painting "La deposizione", the last work in Florence.

Life in Rome

In 1508, Pope Julius II (Iulius PP. II), in the world - Giuliano della Rovere (Giuliano della Rovere) invites Raphael to Rome to paint the old Vatican Palace. From 1509 until the end of his days, the artist worked, putting all his skill, all his talent and all his knowledge into his work.

When the architect Donato Bramante died, Pope Leo X (Leo PP. X), in the world - Giovanni Medici, from 1514 appointed Raphael as the leading architect of the construction (Basilica Sancti Petri), in 1515 he also becomes a custodian of valuables. The young man took responsibility for the census and preservation of monuments. For the Temple of St. Peter, Raphael drew up a different plan and completed the construction of a courtyard with loggias.

Other architectural works of Raphael:

• Church of Sant’Eligio degli Orefici, built on the street of the same name in , construction began in 1509.
• Chigi Chapel (La cappella Chigi) of the church (Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo), located in Piazza del Popolo. Construction began in 1513 and was completed (by Giovanni Bernini) in 1656.
• Palazzo Vidoni-Caffarelli in Rome, located at the intersection of Piazza Vidoni and Corso Vittorio Emanuele. Construction began in 1515.
• The now ruined Palazzo Branconio dell'Aquila was located in front of St. Peter's Basilica. Construction was completed in 1520.
• The Pandolfini Palace in Florence on Via San Gallo was built by the architect Giuliano da Sangallo according to the sketches of Raphael.

Pope Leo X was afraid that the French might lure away the talented artist, so he tried to give him as much work as possible, not skimping on gifts and praise. In Rome, Rafael Santi continues to paint Madonnas, without departing from his favorite theme of motherhood.

Personal life

The paintings of Rafael Santi brought him not only the fame of an outstanding artist, but also a lot of money. He never lacked both the attention of royalty and financial resources.

During the reign of Leo X, he acquired a luxurious house in the antique style, built according to his own design. However, multiple attempts to marry the young man by his patrons led nowhere. Raphael was a great admirer of female beauty. On the initiative of Cardinal Bibbiena, the artist was engaged to his niece Maria Dovizi da Bibbiena, but the wedding did not take place. the maestro did not want to tie the knot. The name of one famous mistress of Raphael is Beatrice from (Ferrara), but most likely she was an ordinary Roman courtesan.

The only woman who managed to win the heart of a wealthy womanizer was Margherita Luti, the daughter of a baker, nicknamed La Fornarina.

The artist met a girl in the Chigi garden when he was looking for an image for “Cupid and Psyche.” Thirty-year-old Raphael Santi painted (Villa Farnesina) in Rome, which belonged to his wealthy patron, and the beauty of a seventeen-year-old girl suited this image perfectly.

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The girl’s father allowed his daughter to pose for the artist for 50 gold pieces, and later for 3,000 gold pieces he allowed Raphael to take her with him. For six years, the young people lived together, Margarita never ceased to inspire her admirer with new masterpieces, including:

• “Sistine Madonna” (“Madonna Sistina”), Gallery of Old Masters (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister), Dresden, Germany, 1514;.;
• “Donna Velata” (“La Velata”), Palatine Gallery (Galerie Palatine), (Palazzo Pitti), Florence, 1515;
• “Fornarina” (“La Fornarina”), Palazzo Barberini, Rome, 1519;

After Raphael's death, young Margarita received lifelong maintenance and a house. But in 1520 the girl became a novice in the monastery, where she later died.

Death

Raphael's death left many mysteries. According to one version, the artist, tired of his nightly adventures, returned home in a weakened state. The doctors were supposed to support his strength, but they performed bloodletting, which killed the patient. According to another version, Raphael caught a cold during excavations in the underground burial galleries.

On April 6, 1520, the maesto passed away. He was buried in the (Pantheon) with due honors. Raphael's tomb can be seen during the sightseeing tour of Rome at dawn.

Madonnas

Imitating his teacher Pietro Perugino, Raphael painted a gallery of forty-two paintings of the Virgin and Child. Despite the variety of storylines, the works are united by the touching beauty of motherhood. The artist transfers the lack of maternal love onto the canvases, strengthening and idealizing the woman who anxiously protects the baby angel.

Raphael Santi's first Madonnas were created in the quattrocento style, common during the early Renaissance in the 15th century. The images are constrained, dry, human figures are presented strictly frontally, the gaze is motionless, there is calmness and solemn abstraction on their faces.

The Florentine period introduces feelings into the images of the Mother of God, anxiety and pride for her child are manifested. The landscapes in the background become more complex, and the interaction of the characters depicted becomes apparent.

In later Roman works one can discern the origins of Baroque, feelings become more complex, poses and gestures are far from Renaissance harmony, the proportions of figures are elongated, and a predominance of gloomy tones is observed.

Below are the most famous paintings and their descriptions:

The Sistine Madonna (Madonna Sistina) is the most famous of all images of the Mother of God measuring 2 m 65 cm by 1 m 96 cm. The image of the Madonna is taken from 17-year-old Margherita Luti, the daughter of a baker and the artist’s mistress.

Mary, descending from the clouds, carries an unusually serious baby in her arms. They are met by Pope Sixtus II and Saint Barbara. At the bottom of the picture are two angels, presumably leaning on a coffin lid. The angel on the left has one wing. The name Sixtus is translated from Latin as “six”; the composition consists of six figures – the three main ones form a triangle; the background for the composition is the faces of angels in the form of clouds. The canvas was created for the altar of the Basilica of St. Sixtus (Chiesa di San Sisto) in Piacenza in 1513. Since 1754, the work has been exhibited in the Gallery of Old Masters.

Madonna and Child

Another name for the painting, created in 1498, is “Madonna of the House of Santi” (“Madonna di Casa Santi”). It became the artist’s first appeal to the image of the Mother of God.

The fresco is kept in the house where the artist was born, on Via Raffaello in Urbino. Today the building is called the “House-Museum of Raphael Santi” (“Casa Natale di Raffaello”). Madonna is shown in profile, reading a book placed on a stand. She has a sleeping baby in her arms. The mother's hands support and gently stroke the child. The poses of both figures are natural and relaxed, the mood is set by the contrast of dark and white tones.

Madonna del Granduca is Raphael's most mysterious work, completed in 1505. Its preliminary sketch clearly indicates the presence of a landscape in the background. The drawing is kept in the Cabinet of Sketches and Etudes in (Galleria degli Uffizi), in Florence (Firenze).

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An x-ray of the finished work confirms that the painting originally had a different background. The analysis of the paint indicates that the top layer of the painting was applied 100 years after its creation. Presumably, this could have been done by the artist Carlo Dolci, owner of the Granduca Madonna, who preferred the dark background of religious images. In 1800, Dolci sold the painting to Duke Francis III (François III) in the form in which it has survived to this day. Madonna gets the name “Granduka” from the name of the same owner (Grand Duca - Grand Duke). The painting, measuring 84 cm by 56 cm, is exhibited in the Galerie Palatine of Palazzo Pitti, Florence.

For the first time, A. S. Pushkin noticed the resemblance between Madonna Bridgewater and his wife Natalya Nikolaevna in the summer of 1830, after seeing a copy of a painting created in 1507 in the window of a book store on Nevsky Prospekt. This is another mysterious work by Raphael, where the landscape in the background is painted over with black paint. She traveled around the world for a long time, after which the Duke of Bridgewater became her owner.

Subsequently, the heirs kept the work in the Bridgewater estate in London for more than a hundred years. During the Second World War, the blonde Madonna was transported to the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh, where it is exhibited today.

Madonna Connestabile is the finishing work of the maestro in Umbria, painted in 1502. Before its acquisition by Count Conestabile della Staffa, it was called the Madonna del Libro.

In 1871, Alexander II bought it from the count to give it to his wife. Today this is the only work of Raphael that belongs to Russia. It is exhibited in the St. Petersburg Hermitage.

The work is presented in a rich frame created simultaneously with the canvas. When transferring the painting from wood to canvas in 1881, it was discovered that instead of a book, the Madonna initially held a pomegranate with her - a sign of the blood of Christ. At the time of creating the Madonna, Raphael did not yet master the technique of softening the transitions of lines - sfumato, so he presented his talent with the undiluted influence of Leonardo da Vinci.

"Madonna d'Alba" was created by Raphael in 1511 at the request of Bishop Paolo Giovio. during the artist's creative zenith. For a long time, until 1931, the painting belonged to the St. Petersburg Hermitage; it was subsequently sold to Washington, USA, and today is exhibited in the National Gallery of Art.

The pose and folds of the Mother of God’s clothing are reminiscent of sculptures from antiquity. The work is unusual in that it is framed by a circle with a diameter of 945 mm. The title “Alba” was given to the Madonna in the 17th century in memory of the Dukes of Alba (at one time the painting was in the palace of Sevilla, which belonged to the heirs of Olivares). In 1836, Russian Emperor Nicholas I bought it for £14,000 and ordered it to be transferred from wood to canvas. At the same time, part of nature on the right was lost.

"Madonna della Seggiola" was created in 1514 and is exhibited in the Galerie Palatine of Palazzo Pitti. The Mother of God is dressed in the elegant clothing of women from 16th century Italy.

Madonna hugs and hugs her son tightly with both arms, as if feeling what he will have to experience. On the right, John the Baptist looks at them in the form of a little boy. All figures are drawn close-up and the background for the picture is no longer required. There is no strictness of geometric shapes and linear perspectives, but there is boundless maternal love, expressed by the use of warm colors.

Raphael's large canvas (1 m 22 cm by 80 cm) of “The Beautiful Gardener” (La Belle Jardiniere), painted in 1507, belongs to one of the most valuable exhibits of the Paris Louvre (Musée du Louvre).

Initially, the painting was called “The Holy Virgin in a Peasant’s Dress,” and only in 1720 did the art critic Pierre Mariette decide to give it a different name. Mary is depicted sitting in the garden with Jesus and John the Baptist. The son reaches out to the book and looks into his mother’s eyes. John holds a staff with a cross and looks at Christ. Halos are barely visible above the characters' heads. Peace and tranquility are given by a turquoise sky with white clouds, a lake, flowering herbs and plump children near the kind and gentle Madonna.

Madonna with the Goldfinch

Madonna with the Goldfinch (Madonna del Cardellino) is recognized as one of Raphael’s best creations, painted in 1506. Exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery (Galleria degli Uffizi) in Florence.

The customer for the painting was the artist’s friend, the merchant Lorenzo Nazi, who asked that the work be ready for his wedding. In 1548, the painting was almost lost when Mount San Giorgio collapsed on the merchant's house and neighboring houses. However, Lorenzo's son, Batista, collected all the parts of the painting from the ruins and gave them to Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio for restoration. He did everything possible to give the masterpiece its original appearance, but traces of damage could not be completely hidden. The x-ray shows 17 separate elements connected by nails, new painting and four inserts on the left side.

The Small Madonna of Cowper (Piccola Madonna Cowper) was created in 1505 and named after Earl Cowper, in whose collection the work was for many years. In 1942, donated to the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The Holy Virgin, as in many other paintings by Raphael, is represented in red robes, symbolizing the blood of Christ. A blue cape is added on top as a symbol of innocence. Although no one in Italy walked like this, Raphael depicted the Mother of God in exactly such clothes. The main shot is occupied by Maria resting on a bench. With her left hand she hugs the smiling Christ. Behind you can see a church reminiscent of the Temple of San Bernardino (Chiesa di San Bernardino) in Urbino, the homeland of the author of the picture.

Portraits

There are not many portraits in Raphael's collection; he passed away early. Among them one can highlight early works made in the Florentine period and works of his mature age, created while living in Rome from 1508 to 1520. The artist draws a lot from life, always clearly defining the outline, achieving the most accurate correspondence of the image to the original. The authorship of many works is questioned; other possible authors include: Pietro Perugino, Francesco Francia, Lorenzo di Credi.

Portraits created before moving to Florence

An oil on wood work (45 cm by 31 cm), executed in 1502, is exhibited in (Galleria Borghese).

Until the 19th century the authorship of the portrait was attributed to Perugino, but recent research indicates that the masterpiece was painted by the early Raphael. Perhaps this is an image of one of the dukes, the artist's contemporaries. Flowing curls of hair and the absence of facial defects somewhat idealize the image, this did not correspond to the realism of the artists of northern Italy at that time.

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A portrait of Elizabeth Gonzaga, created in 1503, measuring 52 cm by 37 cm, is exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery.

Elizabeth was the sister of Francesco II Gonzaga and the wife of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro. The woman’s forehead is decorated with a scorpion pendant, her hairstyle, and clothes are depicted in the fashion of the author’s contemporaries.. According to art historians, the portraits of Gonzaga and Montefeltro were partially painted by Giovanni Santi. Elizabeth was dear to Raphael because she was involved in his upbringing when he was left an orphan.

Portrait of Pietro Bembo, one of Raphael's first works from 1504, represents the young Pietro Bembo, who became a cardinal, practically the artist's double.

In the image, the young man's long hair flows softly from under a red cap. The hands are folded on the parapet, a piece of paper is clutched in the right palm. Raphael first met Bembo in the castle of the Duke of Urbino. The portrait in oil on wood (54 cm by 39 cm) is exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts (Szépművészeti Múzeum) in Budapest, Hungary.

Portraits of the Florentine period

The portrait of a pregnant woman by Donna Gravida (La donna gravida) was executed in 1506 in oil on canvas measuring 77 cm by 111 cm and is kept in Palazzo Pitti.

In the time of Raphael, it was not customary to depict women bearing a child, but the portrait painter painted images close to his soul without regard to dogma. The theme of motherhood, running through all Madonnas, was also reflected in the images of worldly inhabitants. Art historians believe that this could be a woman of the Bufalini family, Città di Castello or Emilia Pia da Montefeltro. Belonging to a wealthy class is indicated by a fashionable outfit, jewelry on the hair, rings with precious stones on the fingers and a chain around the neck.

Portrait of a Lady with a Unicorn (Dama col liocorno) in oil on wood, 65 cm by 61 cm, painted in 1506, is exhibited in the Borghese Gallery.

Presumably, Giulia Farnese, the secret love of Pope Alexander VI, posed for the image. The work is interesting because during numerous restorations the image of the lady was changed many times. The X-ray image shows the silhouette of a dog instead of a unicorn. Perhaps the work on the portrait went through several stages. Raphael may have been the author of the figure's torso, landscape and sky. Giovanni Sogliani could have painted the columns on the sides of the loggia, arms with sleeves and a dog. Another later coat of paint increases the volume of the hairstyle, changes the sleeves and completes the dog. After a few decades, the dog becomes a unicorn, hands are rewritten. In the 17th century, the lady becomes St. Catherine in a cloak.

Self-portrait

Self-portrait (Autoritratto) measuring 47.5 cm by 33 cm, executed in 1506, is kept in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

The work belonged to Cardinal Leopoldus Medices for a long time; since 1682 it has been included in the collection of the Uffizi Gallery. A mirror image of the portrait was painted by Raphael on the fresco “Scuola di Atene” in the main hall of the Vatican Palace (Apostolic Palace (Palazzo Apostolico)). The artist depicted himself in a modest black robe, adorning it with only a small strip of white collar.

Portrait of Agnolo Doni, portrait of Maddalena Doni

The portrait of Agnolo Doni and the portrait of Maddalena Doni (Portrait of Agnolo Doni, Portrait of Maddalena Doni) were painted in oil on wood in 1506 and complement each other perfectly.

Agnolo Doni was a wealthy wool merchant and commissioned a painting of himself and his young wife (nee Strozzi) immediately after their wedding. The image of the girl is created in the likeness of “Mona Lisa” (Leonardo da Vinci): the same rotation of the body, the same position of the hands. Careful detailing of clothing and jewelry indicates the couple’s wealth.

Rubies symbolize prosperity, sapphires symbolize purity, and the pearl pendant on Maddalena's neck symbolizes virginity. Previously, both works were connected together by hinges. From the mid-20s. XIX century descendants of the Doni family pass on the portraits.

The painting The Mute (La Muta) in oil on canvas measuring 64 cm by 48 cm was made in 1507 and exhibited in the National Gallery of the Marche (Galleria nazionale delle Marche) in Urbino.

The prototype of the image is considered to be Elisabetta Gonzaga, wife of Duke Guidobaldo da Montefeltro. According to another version, it could be the Duke's sister Giovanna. Until 1631, the portrait was in Urbino; ​​subsequently it was transported to Florence. In 1927, the work was again returned to the artist’s homeland. In 1975, the painting was stolen from the gallery, and a year later it was discovered in Switzerland.

Portrait of a Young Man in oil on wood (35 cm by 47 cm), painted in 1505, is exhibited in Florence, in the Uffizi.

Francesco Maria della Rovere, shown here, was the son of Giovanni Della Rovere and Juliana Feltria. His uncle appointed the young man as his heir in 1504 and immediately commissioned this portrait. A young man in a red robe is presented in the modest nature of northern Italy.

The portrait of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro (Ritratto di Guidоbaldo da Montefeltro) in oil on wood (69 cm by 52 cm) was executed in 1506. The work was kept in the castle of the Dukes of Urbino (Palazzo Ducale), after which it was transported to the city of Pesaro.

In 1631, the painting entered the collection of Ferdinando II de Medici's wife, Vittoria della Rovere. Montefeltro, dressed in black, is placed in the center of the composition, which is framed by the dark walls of the room. On the right is an open window with nature outside. The stillness and asceticism of the image for a long time prevented Raphael from being recognized as the author of the painting.

Stanzas of Raphael in the Vatican

In 1508, the artist moved to Rome, where he remained until his death. The architect Domato Bramante helped him become an artist at the papal court. Pope Julius II gives his protégé the state rooms (stanzas) of the old Vatican palace, later named (Stanze di Raffaello), to be painted. Having seen Raphael's first work, the pope ordered his drawings to be applied to all surfaces, removing the frescoes of the other authors and leaving only the lampshades untouched.

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The literal translation of “Stanza della Segnatura” sounds like “signature room”; it is the only one that was not renamed according to the theme of the frescoes.

Raphael worked on its painting from 1508 to 1511. In the room, royalty signed important papers and there was a library right there. This is the 1st stanza out of 4 that Raphael worked on.

Fresco "School of Athens"

The second title of the “Scuola di Atene”, the best of the frescoes created, is “Philosophical Conversations” (“Discussioni filosofiche”). The main theme - the dispute between Aristotle (Aristotels) and Plato ((Plato), written with Leonardo da Vinci) under the arches of a fantastic temple, is intended to reflect philosophical activity. The length at the base is 7 m 70 cm, more than 50 characters are placed in the composition, among which Heraclitus ((Heraclitus), painted with), Ptolemy ((Ptolemaeus), self-portrait of Raphael), Socrates (Sokrates), Diogenes (Diogen), Pythagoras (Pythagoras), Euclid ((Evklid), painted with Bramante), Zoroaster ( Zoroastr) and other philosophers and thinkers.

Fresco "Disputation", or "Dispute about Holy Communion"

The size of the “Dispute about Holy Communion” (“La disputa del sacramento”), symbolizing theology, is 5 m by 7 m 70 cm.

In the fresco, the heavenly inhabitants are engaged in a theological debate with earthly mortals (Fra Beato Angelico, Augustinus Hipponensis, Dante Alighieri, Savonarola and others). The clear symmetry in the work is not depressing; on the contrary, thanks to Raphael’s gift for organization, it seems natural and harmonious. The leading figure of the composition is a semicircle.

Fresco “Wisdom. Moderation. Force"

Fresco “Wisdom. Moderation. Strength" (“La saggezza. La moderazione. Forza”) is placed on the wall cut through by a window. Another name for a work glorifying secular and ecclesiastical legislation is “Jurisprudence” (Giurisprudenza).

Below the figure of Jurisprudence on the ceiling, on the wall above the window there are three figures: Wisdom looking into the mirror, Strength in a helmet and Temperance with reins in hand. On the left side of the window is the Emperor Justinian (Iustinianus) and Tribonianus (Tribonianus) kneeling in front of him. On the right side of the window is an image of Pope Gregory VII (Gregorius PP. VII) presenting the decrees of the popes to a lawyer.

Fresco "Parnassus"

The fresco “Parnassus” (“he Parnassus”) or “Apollo and the Muses” (“Apollo and the Muses”) is located on the wall opposite “Wisdom. Moderation. Powers" and depicts ancient and modern poets. In the middle of the image is the ancient Greek Apollo with a hand-made lyre, surrounded by nine muses. On the right are: Homer, Dante, Anakreon, Virgil, on the right are Ariosto, Horatius, Terentius, Ovidius.

The theme for the painting of Stanza di Eliodoro is the intercession of higher powers for the Church. The hall, work on which has been going on since 1511. to 1514, was named after one of the four frescoes painted by Raphael on the wall. The master's best student, Giulio Romano, helped the teacher in his work.

Fresco “The Expulsion of Eliodor from the Temple”

The fresco “Cacciata di Eliodoro dal tempio” depicts the legend according to which the loyal servant of the Seleukid royal dynasty, military leader Eliodorus, was sent to Jerusalem to collect the treasury of widows and orphans from the Temple of Solomon.

When he entered the temple hall, he saw a rushing angry horse with an angel rider. The horse began to trample Eliodor with its hooves, and the rider's companions, also angels, struck the robber several times with a whip. Pope Julius II is represented in the fresco as an outside observer.

Fresco "Mass in Bolsena"

Rafael Santi worked alone on the fresco “Mass in Bolsena” without involving assistants. The plot depicts a miracle that happened in the Temple of Bolsena. The German priest was about to begin the rite of communion, deep down not believing in its truth. Then 5 streams of blood flowed from the wafer (cake) in his hands (2 of them are a symbol of Christ’s pierced hands, 2 of his feet, 1 of them is blood from the wound of his pierced side). The composition contains notes of a clash with German heretics of the 16th century.

Fresco "Bringing the Apostle Peter out of prison"

The fresco “The Deliverance of the Apostle Peter from Prison” (“la Delivrance de Saint Pierre”) is also the work entirely of Raphael. The plot is taken from the “Acts of the Apostles”, the image is divided into 3 parts. In the center of the composition is the radiant Apostle Peter, imprisoned in a gloomy prison cell. On the right, Peter and the angel emerge from captivity while the guards are sleeping. On the left is the third action, when the guard wakes up, discovers the loss and raises the alarm.

Fresco “Meeting of Leo I the Great with Attila”

A significant part of the work “The Meeting between Leo the Great and Attila”, more than 8 m wide, was made by Raphael’s students.

Leo the Great has the appearance of Pope Leo X. According to legend, when the leader of the Huns approached the walls of Rome, Leo the Great went to meet him along with other members of the delegation. With his eloquence, he convinced the invaders to abandon their intentions to attack the city and leave. According to legend, Attila saw a clergyman behind Leo, threatening him with a sword. It could have been the Apostle Peter (or Paul).

Stanza dell’Incendio di Borgo is the finishing hall that Raphael worked on from 1514 to 1517.

The room was named after the main and best fresco by Raphael Santi, “Fire in the Borgo” by the maestro. His students worked on the rest of the paintings according to the given drawings.

Fresco “Fire in Borgo”

In 847, the Roman quarter of Borgo, adjacent to the Vatican Palace, was engulfed in flames. It grew until Leo IV (Leo PP. IV) appeared from the Vatican Palace and stopped the disaster with the sign of the cross. In the background is the old facade of St. Peter's Basilica. On the left is the most successful group: an athletic young man carries his old father out of the fire on his shoulders. Nearby, another young man is trying to climb the wall (presumably the artist painted himself).

Stanza of Constantine

Raphael Santi received the order to paint the “Hall of Constantine” (“Sala di Costantino”) in 1517, but only managed to make sketches of the drawings. The sudden death of the brilliant creator prevented him from finishing his work. All frescoes were executed by Raphael's students: Giulio Romano, Gianfrancesco Penni, Raffaellino del Colle, Perino del Vaga.

1. Giovanni Santi insisted that the mother feed the newborn Raphael herself, without resorting to the help of a nurse.
2. About four hundred drawings of the maestro have survived to this day., among which there are sketches and images of lost paintings.
3. The artist’s amazing kindness and spiritual generosity manifested itself not only in relation to close people. Raphael spent his entire life caring like a son for one poor scientist, translator of Hippocrates into Latin, Rabio Calve. The learned man was as holy as he was learned, so he did not accumulate a fortune for himself and lived modestly.
4. In the monastery records, Margarita Luti was designated as “the widow of Raphael.” In addition, while examining the layers of paint on the painting “Fornarina,” restorers discovered a ruby ​​ring underneath, possibly a wedding ring. The pearl decoration in the hair of “Fornarina” and “Donna Velata” also indicates marriage.
5. A painful bluish spot on the Fornarina's chest suggests that the woman had breast cancer.
6. In 2020 it will be 500 years since the death of the brilliant artist. In 2016, for the first time in Russia, an exhibition of Raphael Santi was held in Moscow, at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. At the exhibition entitled “Raphael. Poetry of the Image” presented 8 paintings and 3 graphic drawings collected from various museums in Italy.
7. Children are familiar with Raphael (aka Raf) as one of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” in the cartoon of the same name, who wields a piercing bladed weapon – the sai, which looks like a trident.

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Date of birth: March 28, 1483
Date of death: April 6, 1520
Place of birth: Urbino, Italy

Rafael (Rafael Santi)(1483-1520) - famous painter of the Renaissance, Rafael Santi- architect.

Raphael was born on March 28, 1483 in Italy in the city of Urbino in the family of the poet and artist Giovanni Santi. The future artist begins learning lessons in painting and creativity from his father.

After the death of his father at the age of 17, Raphael moved to Perugia and entered the studio of the artist P. Perugino. where he continued his artistic development. Already during this period, the first works of Raphael appeared, having the general character of religious dreaminess inherent in the Urbian school.

Florentine period

After 2 years, the young man moved to Florence, where such famous Renaissance artists as Leonardo da Vinci and Fra Bartolomeo worked. Florence itself was able to have a strong influence on the development of Raphael’s artistic taste. Choosing the works of Leonardo da Vinci and Fra Bartolomeo as a standard to follow.

Thus, in Raphael’s images of the Florentine period, we can find both the correct transfer of emotional movements, and the subtlety of the play of colors that are so inherent in the work of Leonardo da Vinci, as well as the depth of impression, the ability to arrange groups and reflect reverent degeneration, which was taken from the works of Fra Bartolomeo. A natural sense of proportion allowed Raphael to take from other people's creativity only what was close and useful to him.

It was in Florence that Raphael had to study medicine and anatomy, without knowledge of which the artist of that time could not correctly reflect the human body.

The paintings “The Three Graces”, “The Dream of a Knight”, “Christ Blessing”, “St. Catherine of Alexandria” belong to the Florentine period of Raphael’s work.

The time of Raphael's residence in Florence is considered to be the time of the Madonnas. He was the only one at that time to portray Madonna as a young and tender mother. The following were written: “Madonna of the House of Tempi”, “Madonna of the House of Colonna”, “Madonna del Baldachino”, “Madonna of the Goldfinch”, “Madonna of the Greens”, “Madonna of Granduca”. The Duke of Tuscany liked the latter so much that having acquired it, he never parted with it.

Roman period

The images of the Madonna made Raphael so famous that as a result, the Pope himself invited Raphael to Rome to participate with other artists in painting the state rooms of the Vatican Palace. But Pope Julius II, appreciating Raphael’s frescoes, expelled other artists, entrusting Raphael alone to paint all the halls.

The unusual tasks set before Raphael, the proximity of his idol Michelangelo, who at that time began decorating the Sistine Chapel with frescoes, gave rise to a competitive streak in Raphael, and classical architecture, most developed at that time in Rome, gave his works a divine reflection and clarity for the artistic idea.

In the Stanza della Segnatura, in 3 rooms, Raphael painted a fresco on the entire volume of each wall, but moved away from the images of saints, depicting scenes from ancient culture: The frescoes were painted: “Theology”, “Poetry”, “Justice” and “The School of Athens” their figures seem to float on the ceiling and become the center for the images on the walls.

Below the figure of Theology is the Dispute about the Holy Eucharist, this dispute takes place both in heaven (Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, apostles, prophets, martyrs are depicted) and on earth (the church fathers and growing believers are gathered around the altar) and in the middle there are mediators - the 4 Gospels brought by angels.

On the fresco “Poetry”, existing and ancient poets were placed under its personification “Parnassus”. On the fresco “Justice” above the window there are figures of strength, moderation and prudence, and on the sides the Emperor and the Pope, as the personification of justice. In The School of Athens, Raphael depicted the Greek philosophers Socrates and Heraclitus among their students, especially highlighting the images of the realist Aristotle and the idealist Plato looking into the sky.

At the same time, the artist created portraits of his contemporaries: Popes Julius II and Leo X, which were painted in such a lively manner that contemporaries were afraid to look at them. He also did not leave the image of Madonnas; the “Madonna with the Veil”, “Madonna of the House of Alba”, and the most famous “Sistine Madonna” belong to this period. Raphael, while restoring the paintings of ancient temples in which he participated in excavations, introduced some motifs into his paintings.

Since 1515, Raphael was constantly at work, the Pope appointed Raphael as his chamberlain and knight of the golden spur. Raphael made friends with many representatives of high Roman society and a crowd of students always gathered around him, hanging on every word.

Raphael would have been versatile in his creativity: according to his plans, several churches, villas, and palaces were erected. He made sketches for sculptors and even sculpted himself: for example, Raphael’s hand belongs to the marble statue of a child on a dolphin, currently in the Hermitage.

After Michelangelo's death, Raphael used his extensive knowledge and continued the work begun by Michelangelo on St. Peter's Basilica.

Despite the instructions of Pope Leo X, Raphael did not change the project chosen by Michelangelo and drafted 2 colonnades around the cathedral, in which he wanted to reflect all the monumentality of ancient Rome, but did not have time due to his death. His work was completed later by the architect L. Bernini.

Raphael was the founder of portraiture for the next few centuries, because... For him, the person himself was important, as something unusual, which he tried to emphasize. The artist knew how to reflect both the greed of popes and the extraordinary beauty of madonnas.

April 6, 1520 Raphael dies at the age of 37 from consumption, common in those days, without completing St. Peter's Cathedral.

Achievements of Rafael Santi:

1225 – the number of works created by Raphael.
From under his brush came such works as “The Sistine Madonna”, “Carrying the Cross”, “The Triumph of Galatea”, “The Three Graces”.
He was engaged in decorating the Vatican with frescoes in the style of ancient culture: “Theology”, “Philosophy”, “Jurisprudence” and “Poetry”.

Dates from the biography of Rafael Santi:

March 28, 1483 born in Italy
1494 learning painting from the Umbrian artist P. Perugino
1504 the beginning of the Florentine period in creativity, studying with Fra Bartolomeo and Leonardo da Vinci.
1508 was called to Rome to decorate several halls of the Vatican.
1514 appointed chief overseer of the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral.
On April 6, 1520 he died without finishing the construction.

Interesting facts about Rafael Santi:

Thanks to Raphael's peaceful nature, there was always no room for quarrels and squabbles around him.
Skillfully combining generalization with specific realism, his images of divine babies are always allegorical.
He is the author of sketches called “Raphael's Bible”, sketches written on subjects of the Old and New Testaments and which were to decorate the Vatican loggias.

Rafael Santi - Italian painter, graphic artist and architect, representative of the Umbrian school.

In 1500 he moved to Perugia and entered Perugino’s workshop to study painting. At the same time, Raphael completed his first independent works: the skills and abilities adopted from his father had an impact. The most successful of his early works are “Madonna Conestabile” (1502-1503), “The Knight’s Dream”, “Saint George” (both 1504)

Feeling like an accomplished artist, Raphael left his teacher in 1504 and moved to Florence. Here he worked hard to create the image of the Madonna, to whom he dedicated no less than ten works (“Madonna with the Goldfinch,” 1506-1507; “Entombment,” 1507, etc.).

At the end of 1508, Pope Julius II invited Raphael to move to Rome, where the artist spent the final period of his short life. At the court of the Pope, he received the position of “artist of the Apostolic See.” The main place in his work was now occupied by the paintings of the state rooms (stanzas) of the Vatican Palace.

In Rome, Raphael achieved perfection as a portrait painter and acquired the opportunity to realize his talent as an architect: from 1514 he supervised the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral.

In 1515, he was appointed Commissioner of Antiquities, which meant studying and protecting ancient monuments and supervising excavations.

The birthplace of the great Italian architect and painter, Rafaelo Santi, known as Raphael, became the town of Urbino - the capital of a small duchy in Italy. Date of birth: March 28, 1483.

Raphael received his first painting lessons from Giovanni Santi, his father. Most likely, at the same time he took lessons from Timoteo Viti - he was not particularly famous, but quite gifted. At the age of 16, Raphael was apprenticed to Pietro Venucci, who bore the nickname Perugino, who at that time headed the painters in Urbino. Raphael's work most clearly reflects the ideas of the High Renaissance.

The peculiarity of Raphael's work is that he produced a synthesis of the achievements of his predecessors. He created his own ideal of man, his own idea of ​​harmony and beauty. From his teacher, Perugino, Raphael took smooth lines and freedom of arrangement of figures in space; these are characteristic features of his later, mature works.

In his works, Raphael embodied the ideas of humanism of the Renaissance. These are ideas about human freedom, about the possibilities of his physical and spiritual improvement. Of course, these ideas and dreams were very far from the realities in which the artist lived. However, he managed to reflect the aspirations and milestones that had already been achieved by the renewed culture of Italy, and to which other peoples and subsequent eras aspired.

His images are so noble, charming and attractive due to their unique harmony, amazing sense of proportion, and ability to combine real and imaginary, fantastic images.

In the period from 1504 to 1508, Raphael lives and works in Florence, where his work, of course, was influenced by Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. It was at this time that his work gained maturity, it was then that he produced his best works, including the famous Madonna and Child.

Raphael is engaged in painting the Stanza della Segnatura (printing room), where he demonstrates the talent of a monumental decorator. This room contains his works such as “ Dispute», « Athens school" - they are on the long walls, his other works are on the narrow ones " Parnassus», « Wisdom, Temperance and Strength" The creations in this room are distinguished by their grace and grandeur. Raphael's talent always found its admirers and he never experienced a shortage of customers. Moreover, in order to cope with all the orders, he resorted to the services of assistants who worked on the decorative part of the paintings. In recent years, the portraits he painted have raised the level of his skill to that of Leonardo da Vinci. After Bramane's death in 1514, he served as architect of St. Peter's Cathedral.

Raphael, in his letter to Baldassare Castiglione, explains the ideality of his art very simply. He says that in order to portray a beautiful woman, he needs to see a lot of beauties, having other judges nearby who will confirm that women are beautiful, and then he talks about the absence of both the first and the second, and therefore he turns to his imagination, to his ideas, which strive for perfection.

These “ideas” of his are based on Plato’s treatises. His “Madonnas” convey the beauty and grace of mothers, portraits of fellow tribesmen convey dignity and greatness, and bear the stamp of amazing spirituality. Raphael succeeded in what our contemporaries consider his historical merit; he was able to create a synthesis of two worlds - Greek classics and the Christian world. Such “Hellenized Christianity,” based on Neoplatonism inherent in the Renaissance era, incorporated the previous experience of the development of Italian art, which had moved away from medieval traditions. This is the moment of approval of a new artistic ideal in the art of the West.

Raphael was able to translate the humanistic ideas of his time into simple and clear images that conveyed both everyday and philosophical concepts.

Contemporaries remember Raphael as a warm-hearted man, susceptible to external influences. He had a pleasant appearance, a “patrician face.” He carried himself confidently, but without arrogance. His nature was soft, almost feminine.

His subtle spirituality shines through already in his early work “ Madonna Conestabile", which is now kept in the Hermitage. Composition " Mary's Betrothal"demonstrates his ability to work with the compositional solution of his works, arrange figures in space, and connect them with their environment. In these early works, he demonstrates his emergence as a master of the High Renaissance - this is confirmed by the manner of constructing the drawing, and the harmony of architectural forms, and the integrity and balance of the parts of the composition.

Sistine Madonna

Raphael perceived any painting or fresco as a single organism; he believed that he was re-creating reality, ennobled by the artist. His images and created spaces contain elements of classical architecture and natural objects. Even without depicting architectural objects, Raphael creates his composition like an architectural one, dividing the space and using its rhythmic construction. He skillfully uses the characteristic structural forms of pictorial compositions, which are born from linear forms - circles and semicircles, and spheres or hemisphere domes born from them. All parts of his paintings are subject to circular movement; they are located either along the plane, creating depth, or unfold in a circle, or move in a spiral.

A year before his death, Raphael completed his most famous painting, which is deservedly considered the pinnacle of his work - the famous Sistine Madonna, which was written for the Church of St. Sixtus in Piacenza.

Raphael decided to present the mystery of the appearance of the Mother of God as a visible miracle. To do this, he uses a parted curtain. In such scenes the curtain is usually supported by angels, but in this picture the curtain seems to be parted by the holy spirit. The fact that the Mother of God is an unearthly phenomenon is evidenced by the ease with which she walks barefoot through the clouds, clutching her son to her chest.

In his creation, Raphael managed to combine ideal features, that religious ideality that is inherent in all holy souls with natural humanity. The heavenly queen carries her child towards people. She walks with the pride of a mother who bore a divine child, in her every movement there is inaccessibility - she no longer belongs to herself and this world, she has a different purpose.

Her tender face bears the stamp of inexpressible sorrow - she worries and foresees the fate of the child. Initially, the painting was in the choir of the monastery church of St. Sixta in Piacenza. There she seemed to be floating. From a distance it seemed flat - a dark spot on a light background. If you get closer to the picture, the impression changes, the viewer is captured by new sensations.

The flat incorporeality disappears, all the figures become three-dimensional, and life appears in each of them. And in front of the viewer is no longer the Mother of God floating in the clouds, but a woman coming to meet us. Her clothes seem to flutter in the air flow - the edge of the cloak and the blanket were thrown back by the headwind, and the curtain revealing the figures in front of us helps create a complete illusion of movement.

The artist's plan unites two spaces, the one that is on the other side of the canvas, the imaginary ideal space and the real space in which the audience is located. In order to make sure that the canvas in front of us is not necessary to approach it and touch it.

Realizing that before us is simply a skillfully painted canvas, in thoughts and feelings, at the level of more subtle matters, we feel close to the Mother of God. And, if at the very beginning there is a feeling that Madonna is coming down to us, then after being next to her for a short time, there is a feeling that we are coming up to meet her. Nevertheless, this does not confuse the viewer or cause internal conflict. The feeling of unreality passes and Madonna freezes.

It is interesting that in this work the artist does not use images of the sky or earth. There are no architectural settings or landscapes so characteristic of Raphael's works. All the action takes place in the clouds that fill the entire picture. The clouds, denser in the lower part of the picture, are gentle and luminous in the upper part. The image of the curtain frames the figures tightly, so from a distance a feeling of a flat drawing is created, and the complexity of the depicted space can only be guessed.