Raffaello | Storia dell'arte Moderna

Welcome to a new episode of the Art History podcast from the Renaissance to Mannerism Today we will talk about another great representative of the so-called Vasarian modern style e one that according to the artist's biographer was characterized by the highest possible level of perfection Raffaello Sanzio Born in Urbino on March 28 1483 Raphael was the son of Giovanni Santi A local artist even with modest success who contributed his work at the court of Federico da Montefeltro The court of Urbino led by the Montefeltro was one of the most vibrant and refined in Renaissance Italy The young Raffaello showed an immediate natural aptitude for the visual arts He developed it initially in his father's workshop After the death of his father Giovanni in 1494 Raphael moved to Perugia where she began collaborating with none other than the Perugino At the time he was one of the most popular famous and appreciated artists of the era The influence of the Umbrian painter is clearly seen in Raphael's early works We will have the opportunity to resume this discussion later In 1504 riding on the wave of his growing success Raphael moved to Florence where she came into contact with other great artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo They were active in the Tuscan capital during that period Another major change in his life came in 1508 When Pope Julius II della Rovere called him to work in the Vatican Raffaello was responsible for decorating the rooms that would take his name It was an undertaking that occupied him for the rest of his life and which was completed only after his death which occurred prematurely in 1520 When the artist was not yet even 40 years old The works were completed by his pupils particularly Giulio Romano To characterize Raffaello's artistic language There is certainly the grace and refinement of her performances A great attention to detail is added To dominate her works then it is also the harmony that unites all elements To vibrant and luminous colors and to fluid and precise design This unmistakable style characterized by timeless elegance It is widely believed that Raphael is considered one of the greatest interpreters of Renaissance civilization One of Raphael's earliest works which clearly reflects the influence that Perugino had on him And the one we mentioned earlier is The Marriage of the Virgin Painted in 1504 for the Church of San Francesco in Città del Castello we are located in the province of Perugia The painting clearly references the eponymous work of the master Perugino We can see it even trivially from the edge of the table This is because in the upper part the board is curved and not rectangular Although there are many similarities there are still some small but significant differences Starting from what the two works have in common In Raphael's Marriage of the Virgin for example in the strip closest to the viewer The two groups following the two brides who are exchanging their wedding rings On the left we find more static and composed figures the female figures While on the right we see the group of men whose stillness is broken by the figure in the foreground Hey with a sneer he is breaking the rod with his knee We remember that according to the account of the Apocryphal Gospels Mary was betrothed to Joseph because among the group of men he belonged to his was the only stick among all the suitors The one who bloomed by the will of God and this was the sign that allowed Mary to recognize her husband A ring-shaped structure then a connection between the two groups of characters we find the priest The figure is perfectly positioned on the vertical axis of the painting although the head and torso are slightly tilted to the right The one who binds the two spouses by the wrists The two groups are also arranged in a circle following an opposite arrangement To that which is the curve of the temple that we see in the background Behind the characters in the foreground we find the paved square that we can also observe in the Perugino Even though in this case the checkerboard division is more pronounced and thus enhances the perspective effect more Above it still rises the temple which unlike the one from Perugia has here a base with sixteen sides This makes it appear almost circular to the eye To reinforce this impression and give it a greater sense of lightness compared to the heavy structure of the Perugino We find a colonnade that wraps around the building Where there are also arranged in space some characters They mainly aim to make the viewer feel the distance from the group in the foreground And thus give more credibility to the building's dimensions Note that on the frieze of the portico we find the signature and dating of the work This allows us to definitely attribute it to Raphael Another very important work by the painter from Urbino are the portraits of the donors I will only mention that the tradition of couple portraits Often thought of these paintings are meant to be placed side by side The work of Piero della Francesca and for example the portraits of the dukes of Urbino The theme of couple portraits that Raphael renews Reflecting a certain degree of influence from Leonardo's portraiture and in particular the Mona Lisa Returning to our portraits they were painted between 1506 and 1507 They depict the couple Angelo Doni and Maddalena Strozzi Married in 1504 when she was just fifteen years old While the husband was twice her age To harmonize the two works the background which serves not only as a luminous element It spreads almost from one table to the next creating a unique element that binds them inseparably The landscape consists of a vast blue sky and some simple hints of scenery They vaguely recall the style of Leonardo The newlyweds are positioned in symmetrical poses with their torsos slightly rotated The wealthy merchant is depicted wearing a dark hat He frames his face along with the large mass of hair The determined gaze of Doni is fixed on a distant point in the direction of the viewer In the dark blue suit so dark it almost looked black White pleated collar stands ou The red sleeves that guide the viewer's gaze Toward the hands a bit rough that lightly brush against each other Note the great attention to detail by Raphael And we can see it clearly for example if we look at the left hand In addition to two beautiful rings we can see the blue veins running across the back Maddalena Strozzi is remembered for the pose of the Mona Lisa Even though here the subject loses any abstraction to adhere as closely as possible to reality The woman's face framed by long hair gathered at the nape of her neck It seems almost to express a veil of sadness of bitterness To strike is not only the wealth of the wonderful and extremely refined dress she wears And even rings especially the large pendant that shines on her chest Details that also visually emphasize the elegance of the couple As we mentioned at the start of the episode In the early years of the sixteenth century Raphael was called to Rome for Pope Julius II della Rovere to decorate the rooms at the new pope had chosen as his apartments in the Apostolic Palace But according to what Vasari tells us These spaces had already been frescoed by great artists of the 15th century Among them were Piero della Francesca Andrea del Castagno and Luca Signorelli Pope Julius II decided however to renovate those rooms and in the beginning called several artists led by Perugino He was disappointed with their work and dismissed them quickly Calling their number probably at Bramante's suggestion At that time he was involved in the design of the new Basilica of Saint Peter Here Julius II then called Raphael The artist Orbinate began work in 1508 He dedicated the rest of his life to decorating these four rooms The works continued under the successor of Julius II He sat on the Petrine Throne from 1513 to 1521 under the name Pope Leo X As for the iconographic program behind the decoration of these rooms Every space is dedicated to a specific theme As for the first one the Stanza della Segnatura we find the pictorial representation of theology Of philosophy poetry and jurisprudence In the Room of Eliodoro scenes are depicted where the divine emerges Evidently the protection that God grants to the Church In the Fire Room of Borgo they are depicted By the will of the new Pope incidents related to popes who took the name Leo while in the last room the one of Constantine as one can easily guess from the name The decorative apparatus recounts moments from the life of the Christian emperor It is interesting to note how during the Napoleonic Wars The French considered removing the Vatican frescoes o take them to France with them but they had to give up due to technical difficulties mplied that one had to do a job of such magnitude Considering the vastness of the frescoes they wanted to steal Let's now take a look at some of these works that Raphael created in these rooms Let's start with the so-called Stanza della Segnatura which takes its name from the fact that it was here that meetings were held e most important court of the Holy See the Segnatura of Grace and Justice There we find the vast fresco of the School of Athens Let's talk about a work that is over 7 meters wide and 5 meters high Created between 1509 and 1511 the fresco celebrates humanity's rational quest The work framed by a painted arch that echoes the room's architecture It represents the figures of the most important thinkers and scientists of antiquity All placed inside a neoclassical building To dominate space a perfectly symmetrical perspective constructio It is evident from a decorated tiled floor Inside this space the figures are arranged on two levels In the center framed by a small staircase Surrounded by some arches they rise up in the center of the wor The figures of Aristotle and Plato intent on conversing Around them about sixty figures They are the ones that scholars have long questioned in order to identify them Some of them moreover Raphael gave features inspired by characters of his time We think that Plato has the features of Leonardo da Vinci While Aristotle according to art historians would have the face of Bastiano da Sangallo But not only that Euclid who could perhaps be Archimedes according to some art historians We find it at the bottom on the right engaged in drawing some figures on a tablet He is depicted with the appearance of Donato Bramante while Michelangelo Bonarroti gives his features to the philosopher Heraclitus Placed in the center and isolated depicted resting an elbow on a large stone block The same Raphael think about it would later paint his own portrait choosing the famous Greek artist for himself We can identify it as the figure dressed in black to the right of Euclid Beyond the individual figures we can notice how the characters are represented With plastic poses that refer to classicism And its three-dimensionality is emphasized by a skillful use of chiaroscuro as light and effective as it is subtle Note however in the final analysis The title by which the work is known today namely The School of Athens Here it is actually a name that came much later than the time of execution It dates back to the 18th century and does not reflect the author's and patron's intentions According to scholars the overall meaning of the wor It would only emerge by relating it to the other frescoes in the room you have seen as we mentioned at the beginning as a celebration of the human soul's ability to access truth Thanks to the tools of science and philosophy and in general therefore of rationality Other scholars however believe that the fresco might instead be celebrating Roman civilization and the pacy as the heir of the classical culture Then moving on to the Room of Eliodoro We find the fresco of the liberation of Saint Peter created between 1513 and 1514 with the initial preparatory sketches started even before If Raphael had the chance to complete the Stanza della Segnatura In order to paint his work Raffaello was forced to remove a previous fresco painted nothing less than by Piero della Francesca The choice of theme of Peter's liberation was meant to represent the triumph of the first pope Thanks to the divine intervention in accordance with the will of Julius II To dedicate this second stanza specifically to divine protection given to the Church by the Eternal Father Returning to our fresco the work represents three distinct scenes within a unified space They are equivalent to respectively three other parts of the story which draws inspiration from the Acts of the Apostles In that night when Herod was about to present him before the people Pietro guarded by two soldiers and bound with two chains was sleeping While guards were guarding the prison in front of the door And angel of the Lord appeared to him and a bright light filled the cell Returning to the work the division of the wall into multiple scenes f it is necessary to comply with the room's architecture as the wall in questio The era was interrupted by the opening of a window In the center of the fresco is the figure of Saint Peter Portrayed as an old man while already asleep and chained behind a heavy grate Here appears the angel sent by God to free him from imprisonment She who with her presence illuminates the entire cell To the right in the second scene Peter's miraculous escape is depicted while the guards are on duty They are lying asleep on some steps To the left then in the third and final scene We witness the discovery of the Saint's escape with some soldiers who are awakened from sleep ey sway in the moonlight which is about to give way to dawn and from the lit torches We can here observe how the light reflects with an extremely high level of detail the soldiers' armor creating a multitude of shifting reflections