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) was a great Italian painter, graphic artist and architect, a representative of the Umbrian school.

Raphael lost his parents early. Mother, Margie Charla, died in 1491, and father, Giovanni Santi, died in 1494.
His father was an artist and poet at the court of the Duke of Urbinsky, and Rafael 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 altarpiece "Coronation of St. Nicholas of Tolentino" (1500-1501) for the church of Sant'Agostino in Citta 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 home in Urbino, in Citta di Castello, together with Pinturicchio visits Siena, performs a number of works on orders from Citta di Castello and Perugia.

In 1502, the first Raphael Madonna appears - “Madonna Solly”, Madonna Raphael will write all his life.

The first non-religious paintings are The Knight's Dream and The Three Graces (both around 1504).

Gradually, Raphael develops his own style and creates the first masterpieces - "The Betrothal of the Virgin Mary to Joseph" (1504), "The Coronation of Mary" (about 1504) for the Oddi altar.

In addition to large altar paintings, he paints small paintings: Madonna Conestabile (1502-1504), Saint 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 met Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Bartolomeo della Porta and many other Florentine masters. Carefully studies the painting technique of Leonardo da Vinci, 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 made him work even harder in order to derive 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 was written by Raphael under the clear impression of the Mona Lisa. It was for Agnolo Doni that Michelangelo Buonarroti created the Madonna Doni tondo at that time.

Raphael paints the altarpieces "Madonna Enthroned with John the Baptist and Nicholas of Bari" (circa 1505), "The Entombment" (1507) and portraits - "Lady with a Unicorn" (circa 1506-1507).

In 1507 he met Bramante.

The popularity of Raphael 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 a 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 have a special maternal charm (apparently, the early death of the mother left a deep mark on Raphael's soul).

The growing fame of Raphael leads to an increase in orders for Madonnas, he creates the Granduk Madonna (1505), the Madonna with Carnations (circa 1506), the Canopied Madonna (1506-1508). The best works of this period include "Madonna Terranuova" (1504-1505), "Madonna with a Goldfinch" (1506), "Madonna and Child with John the Baptist ("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 Senyatura. For this stanza, Raphael paints frescoes reflecting four types of human intellectual activity: theology, jurisprudence, poetry and philosophy - "Disputation" (1508-1509), "Wisdom, Moderation and Strength" (1511), and the most outstanding "Parnassus" (1509 -1510) and the "School of Athens" (1510-1511).

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Rafael Santi was born on April 6, 1483 in the family of the court poet and painter of the Dukes of Urbina, Giovanni Santi.

Giovanni Santi was the first teacher of Raphael and from early childhood he was able to instill in the boy a taste for beauty, to introduce him to the world of contemporary art. Thanks to his father's connections, Rafael became close to the son of Federigo da Montefeltro, Guidobaldo. Throughout his life, he enjoyed the friendly support and patronage of his wife, Elizabeth Gonzago.

In 1491, Raphael lost his mother, and three years later, in 1494, his father died. The eleven-year-old boy was left an orphan in the care of his uncle Fra Bartolomeo, who did not so much care about the fate of his nephew as endlessly sued Rafael's stepmother Bernardina. Judging by the correspondence of Raphael, he found warmth and family closeness in communication with his other uncle, his mother's brother, Simon Ciarla.

After the death of his father, for about five years the boy studied in the studio of the court painter of the Dukes of Urbino, Timoteo Viti.

In 1500, Raphael arrived in Perugia, where he entered the workshop of Perugino, in those years the leading representative of the Umbrian school. The early period of Raphael's work is rightly called "Perugino" and the strong dependence of the young artist on the teacher is noted.

Between about 1503 and 1504, commissioned by the Albizzini family, Raphael painted for the church of San Francesco in the small town of Citta di Castello the altarpiece "The Betrothal of Mary" - a work that adequately completed the early period of his work.

In 1503, Perugino moved from his workshop to Florence, where Raphael followed him in the autumn of 1504.

For four years (not counting trips to Perugia, then to Urbino) in Florence, Rafael created the famous paintings of the Madonnas.

In 1507 he briefly returned to Urbino. And in 1508, Raphael was invited by Pope Julius II to Rome to paint the front apartments in the old Vatican Palace.

The first building of Raphael dates back to 1514. He first created the small church of Sant Eligio degli Orefici (begun in 1509). It represents a Greek cross in plan with very short branches and is covered with a light spherical dome with a drum on sails.

After the death of Bramante in 1514, Leo X appointed Raphael the chief architect for the construction of a new St. Peter's Cathedral, as a commissioner of antiquities, he was involved in the protection and census of the monuments of ancient Rome.

From 1506 to 1514, the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral was in the hands of Bramante, who, however, managed to only partially remove the central abutments and the outer arches of the temple.

A direct follower of Bramante, Raphael returns to the traditional form of the plan of church buildings in the form of a Latin cross. He conceived a domed building with three identical apses, the fourth side of which was developed into a strongly elongated three-aisled basilica. But Rafael also did not have time to complete his plan.

Raphael had his own school in Rome, where the mastery of artists was improved. Raphael lived in Rome like a prince, surrounded by students and admirers. His workshop is a complex and very active organization in which experienced assistants of various specializations developed, executed, and brought to life the teacher's ideas. In the letters of Bembo and Bibbiena, Rafael appears as an active organizer, an artist in constant search, a person with an inexhaustible curiosity for knowledge.

Little is known about the private life of Raphael, much more legends. Even during his lifetime, a halo of glory and universal worship arose around the personality of the artist. Already Vasari, whose biography laid the foundation for many subsequent legends about Raphael, saw in him and in his way of life the ideal of an artist-court, gifted, living in luxury and wealth, a person who knows how to behave in society, maintain a learned conversation, has a pleasant appearance and refined manners, surrounded by love and universal reverence.

Fate favored Raphael: in Rome, he found strong and powerful patrons. Julius II was an admirer of his talent. After the death of Julius II, Raphael carried out the orders of Leo X, who became pope in 1513. Raphael died unexpectedly, after a short illness, on his birthday - April 6, 1520. Many of his death was perceived as the death of art - so great was the glory of the artist and his veneration was universal. According to the will, Raphael was buried in the Pantheon, among the great people of Italy.

All Raphael's paintings are a vivid reflection of his subtle nature. From an early age, he was endowed with a hardened industriousness and a desire for spiritual and pure beauty. Therefore, in his works he tirelessly conveyed the bewitching forms of lofty ideas. Perhaps that is why under the brush of the master such a huge number of works were born that convey the perfection of the surrounding world and its ideals. Probably, none of the Renaissance artists so skillfully and deeply enlivened the plots of their paintings. Recall at least a real masterpiece of art of that time " Sistine Madonna". Unshakable and desirable, an image of a unique, wonderful vision appears before the viewer. It seems to descend from the bluish depths of the heavens and envelop those around with its majestic and noble golden radiance. Mary comes down solemnly and boldly, holding her baby in her arms. Such paintings by Raphael are a vivid reflection of his lofty feelings and pure sincere emotions. Monumental forms, clear silhouettes, balanced composition - this is the whole author, his aspirations for high ideals and perfection.

On his canvases, the master again fell in love with female beauty, graceful grandeur and gentle charm of the heroines. No wonder he, at least two of his works " Three Graces" and " Cupid and graces” dedicated to the beautiful goddesses of Roman mythology - the ancient Greek Charites. Their soft forms and rich lines embodied the most joyful, kind and bright beginning of all life. Rafael tirelessly drew inspiration from them. Purposefully, he portrayed the goddesses naked in order to bring each viewer closer to the virgin and tender nature of high art. Perhaps that is why the rest of the artist's works vividly display the divine power, sensual beauty, inextricably linked with the ideals of the surrounding world.

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Biography

The era of the High Renaissance in Italy gave the world great artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian. Each of them in his work embodied the spirit and ideals of the era. Cognitive purposefulness was vividly reflected in the work of Leonardo, in the works of Michelangelo - the pathos and drama of the struggle for great perfection, in Titian - a cheerful free-thinking, Raphael sings of the feelings of beauty and harmony.

Rafael (more precisely Raffaello Santi) was born April 6, 1483(according to other sources, March 28, 1483) in the family of the court painter and poet of the Duke of Urbino, Giovanni Santi, in the city of Urbino. Raphael's father was an educated man and it was he who instilled in his son a love of art. And Raphael received his first painting lessons from his father.

When Raphael was 8 years old, his mother died, and at the age of 11, after the death of his father, he was left an orphan.

The city of Urbino, in which Raphael was born and raised, in the middle of the 15th century was a brilliant artistic center, the center of the humanistic culture of Italy. The young artist could get acquainted with wonderful works of art in the churches and palaces of Urbino, and the beneficial atmosphere of beauty and art awakened imagination, dreams, and cultivated artistic taste. Biographers and researchers of Raphael's work suggest that for the next 5-6 years he studied painting with mediocre Urbino masters Evangelista di Piandimeleto and Timoteo Viti.

AT 1500 In the year Rafael Santi moved to Perugia to continue his education in the workshop of the largest Umbrian painter, Pietro Perugino (Vannucci). The artistic manner of Perugino, contemplative and lyrical, was close. The first artistic compositions were performed by Raphael at the age of 17-19 " Three Graces», « Dream of a knight"and the famous" Madonna Conestabile". The theme of the Madonna is especially close to the lyrical talent of Raphael, and it is no coincidence that she will remain one of the main ones in his work.

The Madonnas of Raphael, as a rule, are depicted against the backdrop of landscapes, their faces breathe calmness and love.

In the Perugine period, the painter creates the first monumental composition for the church - “ Mary's betrothal”, marking a new stage in his work. AT 1504 Raphael moved to Florence in the year. He lived in Florence for four years, occasionally traveling to Urbino, Perugia, Bologna. In Florence, the artist joins the artistic ideals of Renaissance art, gets acquainted with the works of antiquity. At the same time, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo worked in Florence, creating cardboard for battle scenes in the Palazzo Vecchiu.

Raphael studies ancient art, makes sketches from the works of Donatello, from the compositions of Leonardo and Michelangelo. He draws a lot from life, depicts nude models, achieves the correct transfer of the structure of the body, its movement, plasticity. At the same time he studies the laws of monumental composition.

Raphael's painting style is changing: it finds a stronger expression of plastic, forms - more generalized, compositions - simpler and more rigorous. During this period of his work, the image of the Madonna becomes the main one. The fragile, dreamy Umbrian Madonnas were replaced by images of more earthly full-blooded ones, their inner world became more complex and emotionally rich.

Compositions depicting Madonnas with babies brought fame and popularity to Raphael: “ Madonna del Granduca"(1505)," Madonna Tempi"(1508)," Orleans Madonna», « Madonna Column". In each painting on this subject, the artist finds new nuances, artistic fantasies make them completely different, the images acquire greater freedom and movement. The landscapes surrounding the Mother of God are a world of serenity and idyll. This period of the painter, madonna artist"- the flowering of his lyrical talent.

The Florentine period of Raphael's work ends with the monumental canvas " Position in the coffin” (1507) and marks his transition to a monumental-heroic generalized style.

autumn 1508 Raphael moves to Rome. At that time, at the invitation of Pope Julius II, the best architects, sculptors, and painters from all over Italy came to Rome. Scientists - humanists gathered around the papal court. Popes, powerful spiritual and secular rulers, collected works of art, patronized science and the arts. In Rome, Raphael becomes a great master of monumental painting.

Pope Julius II instructed Raphael to decorate the papal chambers in the Vatican Palace, the so-called stanzas (rooms), with paintings. Rafael worked on the frescoes for nine years - from 1508 to 1517. The frescoes of Raphael became the embodiment of the humanistic dream of rebirth of the spiritual and physical perfection of man, his high calling and his creative possibilities. The themes of the frescoes that form a single cycle are the personification and glorification of Truth (Vero), Good, Good (Bene), Beauty, Beauty (Bello). At the same time, these are, as it were, three interrelated spheres of human activity - intellectual, moral and aesthetic.

The theme of the fresco Dispute» (« Dispute”) affirmation of the triumph of the highest truth (the truth of religious revelation), communion. On the opposite wall is the best fresco of the Vatican stanzas, the greatest creation of Raphael " Athenian school». « Athenian school” symbolizes the rational search for truth by philosophy and science. AT " the school of Athens» the painter depicted a collection of ancient thinkers and scientists.

The third fresco of Stanza della Senyatura " Parnassus"- the personification of the idea of ​​Bello - Beauty, the Beautiful. This fresco depicts Apollo surrounded by muses, playing the viol with inspiration, below are famous and nameless poets, playwrights, prose writers, mostly ancient (Homer, Sappho, Alcaeus, Virgil, Dante, Petrarch ...). Allegorical scene opposite " Parnassus”, glorifies (Bene) Good, Good. This idea is personified by the figures of Wisdom, Measure and Strength, rhythmically united by the figures of little geniuses. Three of which symbolize the virtues - Faith, Hope, Mercy.

Raphael was engaged in monumental painting until the last years of his life. The surviving drawings of Raphael clearly reveal the originality of the artist's creative method, the preparation and implementation of the main task of the work. The main goal is to create a composition that is complete and complete.

During the years of work in Rome, Raphael receives many orders for the execution of portraits. The portraits created by him are simple, strict in composition, the main, the most significant, the unique stands out in the appearance of a person: “ Portrait of a cardinal», « Portrait of the writer Baldassare Castiglione"(friend of Rafael) ...

And in the easel painting of Raphael, the plot with the Madonna remains the same theme: “ Madonna Alba"(1509)," Madonna in the chair"(1514-1515), altar paintings -" Madonna di Foligno"(1511-1512)," St. Cecilia» (1514).

The greatest creation of easel painting by Raphael Sistine Madonna"(1513-1514). The royally majestic human intercessor descends to earth. The Madonna hugs the little Christ, but her hugs are ambiguous: they contain both love and parting - she gives him to people for suffering and torment. The Madonna moves and is still. She remains in her sublime ideal world and goes to the earthly world. Mary forever bears her son to people - the embodiment, the symbol of the highest humanity, beauty and greatness of sacrificial maternal love. Raphael created the image of the Mother of God, understandable to everyone.

The last years of Raphael's life were devoted to various fields of activity. AT 1514 year he was appointed to supervise the construction of St. Peter's Basilica, oversaw the progress of all construction and repair work in the Vatican. Created architectural designs for the Church of Sant Eligio degli Orefici (1509), Palazzo Pandolfini in Florence, Villa Madama.

AT 1515-1516 years, together with his students, he created cardboards for carpets intended for decoration on the holidays of the Sistine Chapel.

The last work - " Transfiguration"(1518-1520) - performed with significant participation of students and was completed by them after the death of the master.

Raphael's painting reflected the style, aesthetics and worldview of the era, the era of the High Renaissance. Raphael was born to express the ideals of the Renaissance, the dream of a beautiful man and a beautiful world.

Rafael died at the age of 37 April 6, 1520. The great artist is buried with full honors in the Pantheon. Rafael remained the pride of Italy and all mankind for centuries.

Raphael (Raffaello Santi) (1483 - 1520) - artist (painter, graphic artist), architect of the High Renaissance.

Biography of Raphael Santi

In 1500 he moved to Perugia and entered the workshop of Perugino to study painting. At the same time, Rafael completed the first independent works: the skills and abilities adopted from his father affected. The most successful of his early works are the Conestabile Madonna (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 on creating the image of the Madonna, to whom he dedicated at least ten works (“Madonna with a Goldfinch”, 1506-1507; “The 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 is now occupied by the paintings of the front chambers (stations) of the Vatican Palace.

In Rome, Raphael reached 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 for antiquities, which meant the study and protection of ancient monuments and control over excavations.

The most famous of Raphael's works, the Sistine Madonna (1515-1519), was also written in Rome. In the last years of his life, the popular artist was so busy with orders that he had to entrust their execution to his students, limiting himself to drawing up sketches and general control over the work.
Died April 6, 1520 in Rome.

The tragedy of the brilliant master was that he could not leave behind worthy successors.

However, the work of Raphael had a huge impact on the development of world painting.

The work of Raphael Santi

Raphael Santi (1483-1520) embodied the idea of ​​the brightest and loftiest ideals of Renaissance humanism to the fullest extent in his work. A younger contemporary of Leonardo, who lived a short, extremely eventful life, Raphael synthesized the achievements of his predecessors and created his ideal of a beautiful, harmoniously developed person surrounded by majestic architecture or landscape.

As a seventeen-year-old youth, he discovers real creative maturity, creating a series of images full of harmony and spiritual clarity.

Delicate lyricism and subtle spirituality distinguish one of his early works - "Madonna Conestabile" (1502, St. Petersburg, Hermitage), an enlightened image of a young mother depicted against the backdrop of a transparent Umbrian landscape. The ability to freely arrange the figures in space, to connect them with each other and with the environment, is also manifested in the composition “The Betrothal of Mary” (1504, Milan, Brera Gallery). The spaciousness in the construction of the landscape, the harmony of architectural forms, the balance and integrity of all parts of the composition testify to the formation of Raphael as a master of the High Renaissance.

With his arrival in Florence, Raphael easily absorbs the most important achievements of the artists of the Florentine school with its pronounced plastic beginning and wide coverage of reality.

The content of his art remains the lyrical theme of bright maternal love, to which he attaches special significance. She receives a more mature expression in such works as Madonna in the Green (1505, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum), Madonna with a Goldfinch (Florence, Uffizi), The Beautiful Gardener (1507, Paris, Louvre). In essence, they all vary the same type of composition, composed of the figures of Mary, the infant Christ and the Baptist, forming pyramidal groups against the backdrop of a beautiful rural landscape in the spirit of the compositional techniques found earlier by Leonardo. The naturalness of the movements, the soft plasticity of the forms, the smoothness of the melodious lines, the beauty of the ideal type of the Madonna, the clarity and purity of the landscape backgrounds contribute to revealing the sublime poetry of the figurative structure of these compositions.

In 1508, Raphael was invited to work in Rome, at the court of Pope Julius II, an imperious, ambitious and energetic man who sought to increase the artistic treasures of his capital and attract the most talented cultural figures of that time to his service. At the beginning of the 16th century, Rome inspired hopes for the national unification of the country. The ideals of a national order created the ground for a creative upsurge, for the embodiment of advanced aspirations in art. Here, in close proximity to the heritage of antiquity, Raphael's talent flourishes and matures, acquiring a new scope and features of calm grandeur.

Raphael receives an order to paint the front rooms (the so-called stanzas) of the Vatican Palace. This work, which continued intermittently from 1509 to 1517, put Raphael among the greatest masters of Italian monumental art, confidently solving the problem of synthesis of architecture and Renaissance painting.

The gift of Raphael - a muralist and decorator - manifested itself in all its splendor when painting the Stanzi della Senyatura (printing room).

On the long walls of this room, covered with sailing vaults, the compositions "Disputation" and "The School of Athens" are placed, on the narrow walls - "Parnassus" and "Wisdom, Moderation and Strength", personifying the four areas of human spiritual activity: theology, philosophy, poetry and jurisprudence . The vault, divided into four parts, is decorated with allegorical figures that form a single decorative system with wall paintings. Thus, the entire space of the room turned out to be filled with painting.

Debate School of Athens Adam and Eve

The combination of images of the Christian religion and pagan mythology in the paintings testified to the spread among the humanists of that time of the ideas of reconciliation of the Christian religion with ancient culture and the unconditional victory of the secular principle over the church. Even in the "Dispute" (dispute of the church fathers about the sacrament), dedicated to the image of church leaders, among the participants in the dispute, one can recognize the poets and artists of Italy - Dante, Fra Beato Angelico and other painters and writers. About the triumph of humanistic ideas in Renaissance art, about its connection with antiquity, the composition "The School of Athens" speaks, glorifying the mind of a beautiful and strong man, ancient science and philosophy.

The painting is perceived as the embodiment of a dream of a brighter future.

From the depths of the enfilade of grandiose arched spans, a group of ancient thinkers emerges, in the center of which is the majestic gray-bearded Plato and the confident, inspired Aristotle, pointing to the ground with a gesture of his hand, the founders of idealistic and materialistic philosophy. Below, on the left at the stairs, Pythagoras bent over the book, surrounded by his students, on the right - Euclid, and here, at the very edge, Raphael depicted himself next to the painter Sodoma. This is a young man with a gentle, attractive face. All the characters of the fresco are united by the mood of high spiritual uplift and deep thought. They make up groups that are inseparable in their integrity and harmony, where each character exactly takes his place and where the architecture itself, in its strict regularity and majesty, helps to recreate the atmosphere of a high rise in creative thought.

The fresco "The Expulsion of Eliodor" in Stanza d'Eliodoro stands out with intense drama. The suddenness of the miracle happening - the expulsion of the robber of the temple by the heavenly rider - is conveyed by the swift diagonal of the main movement, using a light effect. Pope Julius II is depicted among the spectators watching the exile of Eliodor. This is an allusion to the events contemporary to Raphael - the expulsion of French troops from the Papal States.

The Roman period of Raphael's work is marked by high achievements in the field of portraiture.

The characters of the Mass in Bolsena (frescoes in the Stanza d'Eliodoro) acquire sharp portrait features full of life. Raphael also turned to the portrait genre in easel painting, showing his originality here, revealing the most characteristic and significant in the model. He painted portraits of Pope Julius II (1511, Florence, Uffizi), Pope Leo X with Cardinal Ludovico dei Rossi and Giulio dei Medici (circa 1518, ibid) and other portrait paintings. An important place in his art continues to occupy the image of the Madonna, acquiring features of great grandeur, monumentality, confidence, strength. Such is the “Madonna della sedia” (“Madonna in the Chair”, 1516, Florence, Pitti Gallery) with its harmonious composition closed in a circle.

At the same time, Raphael created his greatest creation "Sistine Madonna"(1515-1519, Dresden, Art Gallery), intended for the church of St. Sixtus in Piacenza. Unlike the earlier, lighter in mood, lyrical Madonnas, this is a majestic image full of deep meaning. The curtains parted from above on the sides reveal Mary, easily walking through the clouds, with a baby in her arms. Her gaze allows you to look into the world of her experiences. Seriously and sadly, she looks into the distance, as if foreseeing the tragic fate of her son. To the left of the Madonna is depicted Pope Sixtus, enthusiastically contemplating a miracle, to the right - Saint Barbara, reverently lowering her gaze. Below are two angels, looking up and, as it were, returning us to the main image - the Madonna and her childishly thoughtful baby.

The impeccable harmony and dynamic balance of the composition, the subtle rhythm of smooth linear outlines, the naturalness and freedom of movement make up the irresistible strength of this integral, beautiful image.

The vital truth and traits of the ideal are combined with the spiritual purity of the complex tragic character of the Sistine Madonna. Some researchers found its prototype in the features of the “Lady in the Veil” (circa 1513, Florence, Pitti Gallery), but Raphael himself wrote in a letter to his friend Castiglione that his creative method was based on the principle of selecting and generalizing life observations: “In order to to write a beauty, I need to see many beauties, but due to the lack ... in beautiful women, I use some idea that comes to my mind. Thus, in reality, the artist finds features that correspond to his ideal, which rises above the accidental and transient.

Raphael died at the age of thirty-seven, leaving unfinished paintings of the Villa Farnesina, the Vatican loggias and a number of other works completed on cardboard and drawings by his students. The free, graceful, unconstrained drawings of Raphael put forward their creator among the largest draftsmen in the world. His works in the field of architecture and applied art testify to him as a multi-talented figure of the High Renaissance, who gained great fame among his contemporaries. The very name of Raphael later turned into a common noun for an ideal artist.

Numerous Italian students and followers of Raphael erected the creative method of the teacher into an indisputable dogma, which contributed to the spread of imitation in Italian art and foreshadowed an impending crisis of humanism.

• Raphael Santi was born in the family of a court poet and artist, and he himself was a favorite painter of those in power, easily and comfortably feeling in a secular society. However, he was of low birth. He was orphaned at the age of 11, and his guardian sued his stepmother for years over the family property.
• The famous painter wrote the “Sistine Madonna” by order of the “black monks” - the Benedictines. He created his masterpiece on a huge canvas, alone, without the participation of students or assistants.
• The art historian Vasari, and after him other biographers of Raphael, say that the baker's daughter Margarita Luti, known as Fornarina, is embodied in the features of many "Madonnas". Some consider her a prudent debauchee, others - an honest lover, because of which the artist even refused to marry a woman of noble birth. But many art historians believe that all this is a romantic myth about love, and Raphael's true relationship with women is not known to anyone.
• The painting of the artist, called "Fornarina", depicting a model in a semi-nude form, became the object of passionate discussions among physicians. A bluish patch on the model's chest led to speculation that the model had cancer.
• The same Vasari conveys gossip that, being a papal painter, the artist actually did not believe in either God or the devil. This is unlikely, although the statement of one of the popes of that time is quite famous: “How much profit this fairy tale about Christ brought us!”

Bibliography

• Toynes Christoph. Raphael. Taschen. 2005
• Makhov A. Rafael. Young guard. 2011. (Life of wonderful people)
• Eliasberg N. E. Rafael. - M.: Art, 1961. - 56, p. - 20,000 copies. (reg.)
• Stam S.M. Florentine Madonnas of Raphael: (Questions of ideological content). - Saratov: Publishing House of Saratov University, 1982. - 80 p. - 60,000 copies.

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Raphael (actually Raffaello Santi or Sanzio, Raffaello Santi, Sanzio) (March 26 or 28, 1483, Urbino - April 6, 1520, Rome), Italian painter and architect.

Raphael, son of the painter Giovanni Santi, spent his early years in Urbino. In the years 1500-1504, Raphael, according to Vasari, studied with the artist Perugino in Perugia.

From 1504, Raphael worked in Florence, where he got acquainted with the work of Leonardo da Vinci and Fra Bartolommeo, studied anatomy and scientific perspective.
Moving to Florence played a huge role in the creative development of Raphael. Of paramount importance for the artist was familiarity with the method of the great Leonardo da Vinci.
Following Leonardo, Raphael began to work a lot from nature, studying anatomy, the mechanics of movements, complex postures and angles, looking for compact, rhythmically balanced compositional formulas.
The numerous images of the Madonnas he created in Florence brought the young artist all-Italian fame.
Raphael received an invitation from Pope Julius II to Rome, where he was able to get to know the ancient monuments better, took part in archaeological excavations. Having moved to Rome, the 26-year-old master received the position of “artist of the Apostolic See” and was commissioned to paint the main chambers of the Vatican Palace, from 1514 he supervised the construction of St. protection of ancient monuments, archaeological excavations. Fulfilling the order of the pope, Raphael created murals in the halls of the Vatican, glorifying the ideals of freedom and earthly happiness of a person, the limitlessness of his physical and spiritual capabilities.

The painting by Rafael Santi "Madonna Conestabile" was created by the artist at the age of twenty.

In this picture, the young artist Raphael created his first remarkable incarnation of the image of the Madonna, which occupied an exceptionally important place in his art. The image of a young beautiful mother, generally so popular in Renaissance art, is especially close to Raphael, in whose talent there was a lot of softness and lyricism.

In contrast to the masters of the 15th century, in the painting of the young artist Rafael Santi, new qualities were outlined, when the harmonic compositional construction does not fetter the images, but, on the contrary, is perceived as a necessary condition for the feeling of naturalness and freedom that they generate.

holy family 1507-1508 years. Alte Pinakothek, Munich.

Painting by artist Raphael Santi "The Holy Family" Kanidzhani.

The customer of the work is Domenico Canigianini from Florence. In the painting “Holy Family”, the great Renaissance painter Raphael Santi depicted in the classical vein of biblical history - the holy family - the Virgin Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus Christ, along with St. Elizabeth and the baby John the Baptist.

However, only in Rome did Raphael overcome the dryness and some stiffness of his early portraits. It was in Rome that the brilliant talent of Raphael the portrait painter reached maturity.

In the “Madonnas” of Raphael of the Roman period, the idyllic mood of his early works is replaced by the re-creation of deeper human, maternal feelings, as Mary, full of dignity and spiritual purity, is the intercessor of mankind in Raphael’s most famous work - “Sistine Madonna”.

Rafael Santi's painting "The Sistine Madonna" was originally created by the great painter as an altarpiece for the church of San Sisto (St. Sixtus) in Piacenza.

In the painting, the artist depicts the Virgin Mary with the baby Christ, Pope Sixtus II and Saint Barbara. The painting "Sistine Madonna" is one of the most famous works of world art.

How was the image of the Madonna created? Was there a real prototype for it? In this regard, a number of ancient legends are associated with the Dresden painting. Researchers find in the facial features of the Madonna a resemblance to the model of one of Raphael's female portraits - the so-called "Lady in the Veil". But in resolving this issue, first of all, one should take into account the well-known statement of Raphael himself from a letter to his friend Baldassara Castiglione that in creating the image of perfect female beauty, he is guided by a certain idea that arises on the basis of many impressions from the beauties seen by the artist in life. In other words, the basis of the creative method of the painter Raphael Santi is the selection and synthesis of observations of reality.

In the last years of his life, Rafael was so overloaded with orders that he entrusted the execution of many of them to his students and assistants (Giulio Romano, Giovanni da Udine, Perino del Vaga, Francesco Penny and others), usually limited to general supervision of the work.

Raphael had a great influence on the subsequent development of Italian and European painting, becoming, along with the masters of antiquity, the highest example of artistic excellence. The art of Raphael, which had a huge impact on European painting of the 16th-19th and, partly, of the 20th centuries, for centuries retained for artists and viewers the value of an indisputable artistic authority and model.

In the last years of his work, his students created huge cardboards on biblical themes with episodes from the life of the apostles based on the artist's drawings. Based on these cardboards, the Brussels masters were supposed to perform monumental tapestries, which were intended to decorate the Sistine Chapel on holidays.

Paintings by Raphael Santi

The painting by Rafael Santi "Angel" was created by the artist at the age of 17-18 at the very beginning of the 16th century.

This magnificent early work by the young artist is part or fragment of a Baronci altarpiece that was damaged by the 1789 earthquake. The altarpiece "The Coronation of Blessed Nicholas of Tolentino, the Conqueror of Satan" was commissioned by Andrea Baronci for his home chapel of the Church of San Agostinho in Citta de Castello. In addition to the fragment of the painting "Angel", three more parts of the altar have been preserved: "The Most High-Creator" and "The Blessed Virgin Mary" in the Capodimonte Museum (Naples) and another fragment of the "Angel" in the Louvre (Paris).

The painting "Madonna of the Granduca" was painted by the artist Rafael Santi after moving to Florence.

Numerous images of Madonnas created by the young artist in Florence (“Madonna Granduk”, “Madonna with a Goldfinch”, “Madonna in Greenery”, “Madonna with the Christ Child and John the Baptist” or “Beautiful Gardener” and others) brought Rafael Santi all-Italian fame.

The painting "Dream of a Knight" was painted by the artist Rafael Santi in the early years of his work.

The painting is from the heritage of Borghese, probably paired with another work by the artist "Three Graces". These paintings - "The Dream of a Knight" and "Three Graces" - are almost miniature compositions in size.

The theme of the "Dream of a Knight" is a kind of refraction of the ancient myth of Hercules at the crossroads between the allegorical incarnations of Valor and Delight. Near the young knight, depicted sleeping in a beautiful landscape, are two young women. One of them, in a strict attire, offers him a sword and a book, the other - a branch with flowers.

In the painting "Three Graces", the very compositional motif of three naked female figures is borrowed, apparently, from an antique cameo. And although there is still a lot of uncertainty in these works of the artist (“Three Graces” and “The Dream of a Knight”), they attract with their naive charm and poetic purity. Already here, some of the features inherent in Raphael's talent were revealed - the poetic nature of the images, the sense of rhythm and the soft melodiousness of the lines.

The altar painting by Rafael Santi "Madonna of Ansidei" was painted by the artist in Florence; the young painter was not yet 25 years old.

Unicorn, a mythical animal with the body of a bull, horse or goat and one long, straight horn on its forehead.

The unicorn is a symbol of purity and virginity. According to legend, only an innocent girl can tame a ferocious unicorn. The painting “Lady with a Unicorn” was painted by Rafael Santi based on the mythological plot popular during the Renaissance and Mannerism, which was used by many artists in their paintings.

The painting "Lady with a Unicorn" was badly damaged in the past, and has now been partially restored.

Painting by Raphael Santi "Madonna in the Green" or "Mary with the Child and John the Baptist".

In Florence, Raphael created the Madonna cycle, indicating the onset of a new stage in his work. Belonging to the most famous of them, “Madonna in the Green” (Vienna, Museum), “Madonna with a Goldfinch” (Uffizi) and “Madonna the Gardener” (Louvre) are some kind of variants of a common motif - images of a beautiful young mother with the Christ child and little John the Baptist in the background of the landscape. These are also variants of the same theme - the theme of motherly love, light and serene.

Altar painting by Raphael Santi "Madonna di Foligno".

In the 1510s, Raphael worked a lot in the field of altar composition. A number of his works of this kind, among which the Madonna di Foligno should be mentioned, lead us to the greatest creation of his easel painting - the Sistine Madonna. This picture was created in 1515-1519 for the church of St. Sixtus in Piacenza and is now in the Dresden Art Gallery.

The painting "Madonna di Foligno" in its compositional structure is similar to the famous "Sistine Madonna", with the only difference being that in the painting "Madonna di Foligno" there are more characters and the image of the Madonna is distinguished by a kind of internal isolation - her gaze is occupied with her child - the Christ child .

Rafael Santi's painting "Madonna del Impannata" was created by the great painter almost at the same time as the famous "Sistine Madonna".

In the painting, the artist depicts the Virgin Mary with the children Christ and John the Baptist, Saint Elizabeth and Saint Catherine. The painting "Madonna del Impannata" testifies to the further improvement of the artist's style, the complication of images in comparison with the soft lyrical images of his Florentine Madonnas.

The mid-1510s were the time of Raphael's finest portrait work.

Castiglione, Count Baldassare (Castiglione; 1478-1526) - Italian diplomat and writer. Born near Mantua, served at various Italian courts, was the ambassador of the Duke of Urbino in the 1500s to Henry VII of England, from 1507 in France to King Louis XII. In 1525, already at a fairly respectable age, he was sent as papal nuncio to Spain.

In this portrait, Raphael showed himself to be an outstanding colorist, able to feel color in its complex shades and tonal transitions. The portrait of the "Lady in the Veil" differs from the portrait of Baldassare Castiglione with remarkable coloristic merits.

Researchers of the artist Raphael Santi and historians of Renaissance painting find in the features of the model of this female portrait of Raphael a resemblance to the face of the Virgin Mary in his famous painting “The Sistine Madonna”.

Joanna of Aragon 1518 year. Louvre Museum, Paris.

The customer of the painting is Cardinal Bibbiena, writer and secretary under Pope Leo X; the painting was intended as a gift to the French king Francis I. The portrait was only begun by the artist, and it is not known for certain which of his students (Giulio Romano, Francesco Penny or Perino del Vaga) completed.

Joanna of Aragon (? -1577) - the daughter of the Neapolitan king Federigo (later deposed), the wife of Ascanio, Prince Taliakosso, famous for her beauty.

The extraordinary beauty of Joanna of Aragon was sung by contemporary poets in a number of poetic dedications, the collection of which made up a whole volume published in Venice.

In the painting, the artist depicts a classic version of the biblical chapter from the Revelation of John the Theologian or the Apocalypse.
“And there was a war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought against them, but they did not stand, and there was no longer a place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast out to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him...

Frescoes by Raphael

The fresco of the artist Rafael Santi "Adam and Eve" has another name - "The Fall".

The size of the fresco is 120 x 105 cm. Raphael painted the fresco "Adam and Eve" on the ceiling of the pontiff's chambers.

The fresco of the artist Raphael Santi "The School of Athens" has another name - "Philosophical Conversations". The size of the fresco, the length of the base is 770 cm. After moving to Rome in 1508, Raphael was entrusted with painting the pope's apartments - the so-called stanzas (that is, rooms), which include three rooms on the second floor of the Vatican Palace and the hall adjacent to them. The general ideological program of the fresco cycles in the stanzas, according to the plan of the customers, was to serve to glorify the authority of the Catholic Church and its head, the Roman high priest.

Along with allegorical and biblical images, episodes from the history of the papacy are depicted in separate frescoes; portrait images of Julius II and his successor Leo X are included in some compositions.

The customer for the painting “The Triumph of Galatea” is Agostino Chigi, a banker from Siena; the fresco was painted by the artist in the banquet hall of the villa.

The fresco by Raphael Santi "The Triumph of Galatea" depicts the beautiful Galatea moving swiftly through the waves on a shell pulled by dolphins, surrounded by newts and naiads.

In one of the first frescoes made by Raphael - "Disputation", which depicts a conversation about the sacrament of the sacrament, cult motifs were most affected. The very symbol of communion - the host (wafer) is installed on the altar in the center of the composition. The action takes place in two planes - on earth and in heaven. Below, on a stepped elevation, the church fathers, popes, prelates, clergymen, elders and youths settled down on both sides of the altar.

Among other participants here you can recognize Dante, Savonarola, the pious monk-painter Fra Beato Angelico. Above the whole mass of figures in the lower part of the fresco, like a heavenly vision, the personification of the trinity appears: God the Father, below him, in a halo of golden rays, is Christ with the Mother of God and John the Baptist, even lower, as if marking the geometric center of the fresco, is a dove in sphere, a symbol of the holy spirit, and on the sides on the soaring clouds sit the apostles. And all this huge number of figures, with such a complex compositional design, is distributed with such art that the fresco leaves an impression of amazing clarity and beauty.

Prophet Isaiah 1511-1512 years. San Agostinho, Rome.

The fresco by Raphael depicts the great biblical prophet of the Old Testament at the moment of revelation about the coming of the Messiah. Isaiah (9th century BC), Hebrew prophet, zealous champion of the religion of Yahweh and denouncer of idolatry. The biblical book of the prophet Isaiah bears his name.

One of the four great Old Testament prophets. For Christians, the prophecy of Isaiah about the Messiah (Emmanuel; ch. 7, 9 - “... behold, the Virgin will take in the womb, and give birth to a Son, and they will call his name: Immanuel”) is of particular importance. The memory of the prophet is revered in the Orthodox Church on May 9 (May 22), in the Catholic Church - on July 6.

Frescoes and last paintings by Raphael

A very strong impression is made by the fresco “The Exposition of the Apostle Peter from the Prison”, which depicts the miraculous release of the Apostle Peter from the prison by an angel (a hint at the release of Pope Leo X from French captivity when he was a papal legate).

On the plafonds of the papal apartments - the station della Senyatura, Raphael painted the frescoes "The Fall", "The Victory of Apollo over Marsyas", "Astronomy" and a fresco on the famous Old Testament story "The Judgment of Solomon".
It is difficult to find any other artistic ensemble in the history of art that would give the impression of such figurative saturation in terms of ideological and pictorial-decorative as Raphael's Vatican stanzas. Walls covered with multi-figure frescoes, vaulted ceilings with the richest gilding decoration, with fresco and mosaic inserts, a beautifully patterned floor - all this could give the impression of congestion, if it were not for the high order inherent in the overall design of Rafael Santi, which brings this complex artistic complex necessary clarity and visibility.

Until the last years of his life, Raphael paid great attention to monumental painting. One of the largest works of the artist was the painting of the Villa Farnesina, which belonged to the richest Roman banker Chigi.

In the early 10s of the 16th century, Raphael executed in the main hall of this villa the fresco "The Triumph of Galatea", which belongs to his best works.

The myths about Princess Psyche tell about the desire of the human soul to merge with love. For her indescribable beauty, people revered Psyche more than Aphrodite. According to one version, the jealous goddess sent her son, the deity of love, Cupid, to arouse in the girl a passion for the ugliest of people, however, when he saw the beauty, the young man lost his head and forgot about his mother's order. Having become the husband of Psyche, he did not allow her to look at him. She, burning with curiosity, lit a lamp at night and looked at her husband, not noticing a hot drop of oil that fell on his skin, and Cupid disappeared. In the end, by the will of Zeus, the lovers united. Apuleius in Metamorphoses retells the myth of the romantic story of Cupid and Psyche; wanderings of the human soul yearning to meet its love.

The painting depicts Fornarina, beloved of Rafael Santi, whose real name is Margherita Luti. The real name of Fornarina was established by the researcher Antonio Valeri, who discovered it in a manuscript from the Florentine library and in the list of nuns of a monastery, where the novice was designated as the widow of the artist Raphael.

Fornarina is the legendary lover and model of Raphael, whose real name is Margherita Luti. According to many art critics of the Renaissance and historians of the artist's work, Fornarina is depicted in two famous paintings by Rafael Santi - "Fornarina" and "Lady in a Veil". It is also believed that Fornarina, in all likelihood, served as a model for the creation of the image of the Virgin Mary in the painting "The Sistine Madonna", as well as some other female images of Raphael.

Transfiguration of Christ 1519-1520 years. Pinacoteca Vatican, Rome.

Initially, the picture was created as an altar image of the Cathedral in Narbonne, commissioned by Cardinal Giulio Medici, Bishop of Narbonne. To the greatest extent, the contradictions of the last years of Raphael's work were reflected in the huge altar composition "The Transfiguration of Christ" - it was completed after the death of Raphael by Giulio Romano.

This picture is divided into two parts. The upper part shows the actual transformation - this more harmonious part of the picture was made by Raphael himself. Below are the apostles trying to heal a demon-possessed boy.

It was the altar painting by Raphael Santi "The Transfiguration of Christ" that became for centuries an indisputable model for painters of the academic direction.
Raphael died in 1520. His premature death was unexpected and made a deep impression on his contemporaries.

Rafael Santi deservedly occupies a place among the greatest masters of the High Renaissance.