Artist Rafael Santi brief biography. Paintings by Raphael

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 own ideal person, their idea of ​​harmony and beauty. From his teacher, Perugino, Raphael took smooth lines, freedom of arrangement of figures in space, this characteristics 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 depict beautiful woman, he needs to see a lot of beauties, having other judges nearby who will confirm that women are beautiful, and immediately speaks of the absence of both the first and the second, and therefore he turns to his imagination, to his ideas that 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”, which is based on Neoplatonism inherent in the Renaissance era, incorporated the previous experience of development Italian art, who left medieval traditions. This is the moment of affirmation of the 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 ah he demonstrates his becoming a master 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. There are elements in his images and created spaces 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 - 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 in front of us is just a skillfully painted canvas, we are in thoughts and feelings, at a level 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.

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

In 1483, in the city of Urbino, a son was born into the family of the painter Giovanni Santi, who was named Raphael. From childhood, he watched his father work in his workshop and learned the art of painting from him. After the death of his father, Raphael ended up in the studio of the great artist in Perugia. It is from this provincial workshop that the biography of Raphael Santi as a painter begins. His first works, which later received recognition from art lovers, were the fresco “Madonna and Child”, the banner depicting the “Holy Trinity”, and the image on the altar “The Coronation of St. Nicholas of Tolentino” for the temple in the city of Città di Castello. These works were written by him at the age of 17. For two or three years, Raphael created paintings exclusively with religious themes. He especially liked to draw Madonnas. During this period, he painted “Madonna Solly”, “Madonna Conestabile”, etc. His first works on non-biblical themes were the paintings “The Knight’s Dream” and “The Three Graces”.

Biography of Raphael Santi: Florentine period

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

Artist Raphael. Biography: Roman period

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

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

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

Rafael Santi is a man with an incredible destiny, the most secret and beautiful painter of the Renaissance. The rulers of Italy envied the talent and intelligence of the brilliant painter, the fairer sex adored him for his cheerful disposition and angelic attractiveness, and for his kindness and generosity his friends nicknamed the artist the messenger of heaven. However, Contemporaries did not suspect that the magnanimous Raphael until the end of his days feared that his mind would fall into the abyss of madness.

History always has its beginning and continuation. So on April 6, 1483, in the small town of the Kingdom of Italy of Urbino, in the house of the court painter of the Dukes of Urbino and poet Giovanni Santi, the great Rafael Santi.

Giovanni Santi headed the most famous art workshop in Urbino. The tragedy in which he lost his beloved wife and mother occurred at night in his home. While the artist was in Rome, where he was painting a portrait of Pope John II, his brother Niccolò, in a fit of insanity, killed his elderly mother and seriously wounded the pregnant Maggia, the artist’s wife. The guards who arrived at the crime scene arrested the criminal, but he managed to escape. Seized with insane fear, Niccolo threw himself off the bridge into the icy river. The soldiers stood on the shore and tried to fish out the body when Majia Santi had already given birth to a baby and died from her wounds. Giovanni learned about the trouble from traveling traders. Having abandoned everything, he hurried home. But friends and neighbors have already christened the boy Raphael, buried his wife and mother.

The childhood of the great artist was very happy and carefree. Giovanni Santi, having survived terrible tragedy, put all his strength into Raphael, protecting him from worries and troubles real world, warned possible mistakes and corrected those already committed. Since childhood, Rafael studied only with the best teachers, his father placed it on him big hopes, instilling a taste for painting. The first toys Raphael there were paints and brushes from my father's workshop. And already at seven years old, Rafael Santi he expressed his gifted magical fantasies in the workshop of a court painter - in the workshop of his father. Soon Giovanni remarried Bernardina Parte, the daughter of a goldsmith. From his second marriage a daughter, Elisabette, was born.

Every day the boy brought more and more joy. Giovanni watched how his son thought and acted in his fictional world, and how these weak and still clumsy hands expressed everything on canvas. He understood that talent and supernatural abilities Raphael much more worthy than his own, so he sent the boy to study with his friend, the artist Timoteo Viti.

During the training period, a ten-year-old Raphael for the first time he departed from the canons of the classical Italian portrait of the Renaissance and mastered that unique play of colors and paints, which today is a mystery for artists and art critics around the world.

In 1494, the father of the little genius died of a heart attack, and by decision of the city magistrate, the boy remained in the care of the family of the cloth merchant Bartholomew. He was younger brother the artist Giovanni and, unlike the crazy Niccolo, was sociable, had a caring, cheerful and kind disposition, did not remain indifferent and was always ready to help those who needed it. This good-natured merchant adored his orphan nephew and spared no expense on his painting education.

Already at the age of seventeen, he easily created brilliant, talented works that still delight his contemporaries. In November 1500, a seventeen-year-old youth left his small provincial town of Urbino and moved to the bustling port city of Perugio. There he entered the workshop of the famous painter Pietro Vannucci, known under the name Perugino. Having looked at the first examination papers of his new student, the gray-haired maestro exclaimed: “Today is a joyful day for me, because I have discovered a genius for the world!”

During the Renaissance, Perugino's workshop was creative laboratory, in which brilliant personalities were brought up. Perugino's deep lyricism, his tenderness, calmness and gentleness found an echo in the soul Raphael. Raphael is overbearing. He quickly learns the painting style of his teacher, studies under his guidance the work on frescoes, becomes familiar with the technique and figurative system monumental painting.

For some time, Raphael was still under the powerful influence of Perugino. Only timidly, like a momentary splash, does the unexpected suddenly arise compositional solution, unusual for Perugino. Suddenly the colors on the canvases begin to sound unique. And, despite the fact that his masterpieces of this period are imitative, one cannot stand aside and not realize what their immortal master did. First of all, it is "", "", "". All this is completed by the created monumental canvas “” in the city of Civita - Castellan.

This is like his last bow to the teacher. Raphael goes into big life.

In 1504, he arrived in Florence, where the center of Italian art was concentrated, where the High Renaissance was born and rose.

The first thing the young man saw Raphael, setting foot on the soil of Florence, there was a majestic statue of the biblical hero David in Piazza della Signoria. This sculpture by Michelangelo could not help but stun Raphael, could not help but leave an imprint on his impressionable imagination.

At this time, the great Leonardo also worked in Florence. Just then, all of Florence watched with bated breath the duel of the titans - Leonardo and Michelangelo. They worked on battle compositions for the Council Hall of the Palace of the Signoria. Leonardo's painting was supposed to depict the battle of the Florentines with the Milanese at Anghiari in 1440. And Michelangelo wrote the battle of the Florentines with the Pisans in 1364.

Already in 1505, Florentines had the opportunity to evaluate both cardboards exhibited together.

Poetic, majestic Leonardo and rebellious, with a dazzling passion for painting Michelangelo! A real titanic battle of the elements. Young Rafael you need to come out of the fire of this battle unscorched, remaining yourself.

In Florence, Raphael masters the entire amount of knowledge that an artist needs to rise to the level of these titans.

He studies anatomy, perspective, mathematics, geometry. His search for the beautiful in Man, his worship of Man emerges more and more clearly, he develops the style of a monumentalist, his skill becomes virtuosic.

In four years, he transformed from a timid provincial painter into a real master, confidently mastering all the school secrets he needed for his work.

In 1508, a twenty-five-year-old Santi arrives at the invitation of Pope Julius II to Rome. He is entrusted with painting in the Vatican. First of all, it was necessary to make frescoes in the Signature Hall, which was allocated by Julius II for a library and office. The paintings were supposed to reflect various aspects of human spiritual activity - in science, philosophy, theology, and art.

Here he is before us not only a painter, but an artist - a philosopher who dared to rise to enormous generalizations.

The Hall of the Signature - Stanza della Segnatura - reunited the ideas of the era about the power of the human mind, the power of poetry, the rule of law, and humanity. The artist brought together philosophical ideas in live scenes.

In historical and allegorical groups Santi revives the images of Plato, Aristotle, Diogenes, Socrates, Euclid, Ptolemy. Monumental works required the master to know the most complex painting techniques - fresco, mathematical calculations and a steel hand. It was truly a titanic work!

In their stanzas (rooms) Rafael managed to find an unprecedented synthesis of painting and architecture. The fact is that the interiors of the Vatican were very complex in design. The artist was faced with almost impossible compositional problems. But Santi emerged victorious from this test.

The stanzas are masterpieces not only in terms of the plastic design of the figures, the characteristics of the images, and the color. In these frescoes, the viewer is amazed by the grandeur of the architectural ensembles created by the painter’s brush, created by his dream of beauty.

In one of the frescoes of the Signature Hall, among the philosophers and educators, as if a participant in this high debate, there is himself Rafael Santi. A thoughtful young man looks at us. Large, beautiful eyes, deep gaze. He saw everything: both joy and sorrow - and better than others he felt the Beauty that he left for people.

Raphael was the most magnificent portrait painter of all times. Images of his contemporaries Pope Julius II, Baltasar Castiglione, portraits of cardinals They depict to us proud, wise and strong-willed people of the Renaissance. The plasticity, color, and sharpness of the characteristics of the images on these canvases are amazing.

In general, during his short thirty-seven-year life, the master created many unsurpassed, unique paintings. But still, the most important thing remains the inspired Madonnas, who are distinguished by their special mysterious beauty. Beauty, Kindness, and Truth are intertwined in them.

Painting " Holy Family. Madonna with Beardless Joseph“or “,” written at the age of twenty-three, represents a kind of creative “exercise” of the artist, who solved the problem of constructing a composition that was perfectly coordinated in all its parts.

Its center is marked by the figure of the Child. Highlighted by a beam of light directed directly at her, she, the brightest spot in the picture, immediately attracts the viewer’s attention. What is truly remarkable is the persistence and determination with which Santi consistently achieves the impression of an internal relationship between the characters and their spatial environment. The baby sits on Mary's lap, but his gaze is turned towards Joseph - usual for Raphael compositional technique, with the help of which it is possible to strengthen the connection with each other of adjacent figures not only visually, but also emotionally. Purely painting techniques working towards the same goal. Thus, the smooth parabolic lines outlined in the outlines of the Virgin Mary’s sleeve find an echo both in the outline of the figure of the Child and in the movement of the folds of Joseph’s cloak.

Madonna and Child - one of the leitmotifs in art Raphael: in just four years of his stay in Florence, he painted at least one and a half dozen paintings varying this plot. The Mother of God sometimes sits with the Baby in her arms, sometimes plays with him or simply thinks about something, looking at her son. Sometimes a little John the Baptist is added to them.

Thus, “”, written by him in 1512 - 1513, received the highest recognition. The mother holds the child in her arms and carries him to us, into our world. Holy Sacrament it happened - a man was born. Now life is before him. The Gospel plot is only a pretext for solving an eternal idea through a complex allegory. Life for the human being entering it is not only joy, but also quests, falls, ups, and suffering.

A woman carries her son into a cold and scary world full of accomplishments and joy. She is a mother, she anticipates the fate of her son, everything that is in store for him. She sees his future, so in her eyes there is horror, horror of the inevitable, and grief, and fear for her baby.

And yet she does not stop at the earthly threshold, she crosses it.

The Baby's face is most striking. Peering into the eyes of the Baby, unusually bright, brilliant, almost frightening to the viewer, the impression is not only of a menacing, but of something wild and “obsessed” with a meaningful look. This is God, and like God, he is also privy to the secret of his future, he also knows what awaits him in this world into which the curtain has opened. He clings to his mother, but does not seek protection from her, but as if says goodbye to her, as soon as he enters this world and accepts the full weight of the trials.

The weightless flight of the Madonna. But another moment - and she will step on the ground. She hands people the most precious thing - her son, a new person. Accept him, people, he is ready to accept mortal torment for you. This is the main idea that the artist expressed in painting.

It is this idea that awakens good feelings in the viewer, connects Santi with top names, elevates him as an artist to unattainable heights.

In the middle of the 18th century, the Benedictines sold " Sistine Madonna"to Elector Frederick Augustus II, in 1754 it ended up in the collection of the Dresden National Gallery. " Sistine Madonna"became an object of worship for all humanity. It began to be called the Greatest and Immortal picture of the world.

Image pure beauty can be seen in the portrait "". "" was painted by the artist during his stay in Florence. The image of a young beautiful girl he created is full of charm and virginal purity. This impression is also associated with the mysterious animal lying peacefully on her lap - a unicorn, a symbol of purity, female purity and chastity.

For a long time " Lady with a unicorn"was attributed either to Perugino or to Titian. It was only in the 1930s that Raphael’s authorship was discovered and confirmed. It turned out that the artist initially depicted a lady with a dog, then a mythical creature - a unicorn - appeared on her lap.

The beautiful stranger depicted Raphael, seems to be a “deity”, a “shrine”. She is in boundless harmony with the world that surrounds her.

This job Raphael like a kind of dialogue between the genius of the Renaissance and Leonardo da Vinci, who has just created his famous “ Mona Lisa”, which managed to make a deep impression on the young artist.

Using the lessons of Leonardo, the Master of Madonnas follows the teacher. He places his model in space on the balcony and against the backdrop of the landscape, dividing the plane into different zones. The portrait of the depicted model conducts a dialogue with the viewer, creating new imagery and revealing its different, not ordinary inner world.

The color scheme in a portrait also plays a huge role. A colorful and bright palette, built on a gradation of light and pure colors, gives the landscape a clear transparency, imperceptibly shrouded in a light, foggy haze. All this further emphasizes the integrity and purity of the landscape against the background of the image of the lady.

Fresco with tempera paints on wood " Transfiguration", which Raphael began writing in 1518 by order of Cardinal Giulio de' Medici for the Cathedral of Narbonne, can be perceived as the artist's artistic commandment.

The canvas is divided into two parts. At the top is the plot of the Transfiguration. The Savior with raised hands, in fluttering righteous clothes, hovers against the background of a haze illuminated by the brilliance of His own radiance. On both sides of Him, also floating in the air, are Moses and Elijah - the elders; the first, as already noted, with tablets in hands. At the top of the mountain in different poses The blinded Apostles lie: they cover their faces with their hands, unable to bear the light emanating from Christ. On the left on the mountain there are two outside witnesses to the miracle of the Transfiguration, one of them has a rosary. Their presence does not find justification in the gospel story and was apparently dictated by some considerations of the artist unknown to us now.

There is no feeling of miracle and grace of Favorian light in the picture. But there is a feeling of emotional oversaturation of people, which overlaps the miraculous phenomenon itself.

In the lower half of the picture at the foot of the mountain Santi depicted two animated groups of people: on the left are the other nine Apostles, on the right is a crowd of Jews, in which in the foreground one can see a kneeling woman and a Jew supporting a possessed boy, whose strong writhing, clouded eyes and open mouth reveal his severe mental and physical suffering. The crowd begs the Apostles to cure the demoniac. The apostles look at him in amazement, unable to alleviate his fate; some of them point to Christ.

If you look closely at the face of Christ, which Raphael wrote on the eve of his death, and compare it with the “” artist, you can find some similarities.

Rafael Santi - Great artist with a cheerful and kind disposition, he died unexpectedly on a spring evening, at the age of thirty-seven. He left this world full of divine beauty after a short illness on April 6, 1520 in his workshop. It seemed that art died along with the Great and Revered Artist. According to Raphael Santi's will, he was buried among the great people of Italy in the Pantheon.

Rafael Santi is one of greatest masters Renaissance.

He was a painter, graphic artist, architect, poet. He accompanied some of his drawings with sonnets.
Here is one of Raphael’s sonnets, dedicated to his beloved:

Cupid, stop the blinding light
Two wondrous eyes sent by you.
They promise either cold or summer heat,
But there is not a small drop of compassion in them.
I barely knew their charm,
How I lost my freedom and peace.
Neither the wind from the mountains nor the surf
They will not cope with the fire as a punishment for me.
Ready to bear your oppression without complaint
And live as a slave, chained,
And losing them is tantamount to death.
Anyone will understand my suffering,
Who was unable to control passions
And he became a victim of the whirlwind of love.

Raphael's earthly life was short: he lived only 37 years. And he became an orphan early (at the age of 7 he lost his mother, and at the age of 11 his father). But for his contemporaries, the artist himself was the embodiment of virtue.
Giorgio Vasari in his Lives extols Raphael - his modesty, charming courtesy, grace, hard work, beauty, good morality, his “beautiful nature, infinitely generous in mercy.” “Every evil thought disappeared at the very sight of it,” writes Vasari. And further: “Those who are so happily gifted as Raphael of Urbino are not men, but mortal gods.”
Several centuries later he was echoed Alexander Benois: “Raphael is the personification of the Renaissance. If everything disappeared and only his creation remained, it would speak relentlessly admiring words about that time... Raphael’s attention is drawn to the entire universe, his eye “caresses” everything, his art praises everything.”

From the biography of Raphael Santi (1483-1520)

Raphael "Self-Portrait" (1509)
Raphael was born in Urbino in April 1483 in the family of the painter Giovanni Santi.
Urbino – small town in the foothills of the Apennines.

Urbino. Contemporary photography
The city has completely preserved its unique appearance since the Renaissance, with little reminiscent of modernity. Everyone who comes here has the feeling that they have stepped through centuries and found themselves in the 15th century, when Urbino briefly became one of the brilliant artistic centers of the Italian Renaissance. Italy was at that time fragmented into many city-states.

The house where Raphael lived
Raphael's father, Giovanni Santi, was a court artist and headed the most famous art workshop in Urbino. Its building has also survived to this day. After his death, the workshop was run by his assistants, and here Raphael acquired his first craft skills.
The artist left Urbino as a 17-year-old boy.
Mentors played a certain role in the development of the great talent: Baldassare Castiglione (Raphael corresponded with him until the end of his life), Perugino (Raphael came to his workshop in 1501). It is not surprising that the artist’s early works were made in the style of Perugino.
In 1502, the first Raphael Madonna appeared - “Madonna Solly”, and from that time Raphael would write Madonnas all his life.

Raphael "Madonna Solly"
Gradually Raphael develops his own style. His first masterpieces appeared: “The Betrothal of the Virgin Mary to Joseph”, “The Coronation of Mary” for the Oddi altar.

Raphael "Coronation of Mary" (circa 1504). Vatican Pinacoteca (Rome)

Florence

In 1504, Raphael visited Florence for the first time, and for the next 4 years he lived alternately in Florence, Perugia and Urbino. In Florence, Rafel met Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Bartolomeo della Porta and many other Florentine masters. The talented student took in all the best that he saw in the work of these masters: Michelangelo’s new sculptural interpretation of the forms of the human body, Leonardo’s monumental composition and interest in technical experiments. Over the years he created many paintings. Creative development the master during this period can be traced in the images of Madonnas: “Madonna Granduca” (c. 1505, Florence, Pitti Gallery) still bears traces of Perugino’s style, although it already differs from it in composition and softer light and shadow modeling.

Raphael "Madonna of Granduca" (c. 1505). Oil, board. 84.4x55.9 cm. Pitti Gallery (Florence)
“The Beautiful Gardener” (1507, Paris, Louvre) has a more complex composition.
“Madonna Cowper” is characterized by smooth lines and expressive movements.

Raphael "Madonna Cowper" (1508). Oil, board. 58x43 cm. National Gallery(Washington)
The Florentine period of Raphael’s work was marked by a search for color, which became more restrained and acquired tonal unity; the bright, intense colors of his early works, executed under the influence of Perugino, gradually disappeared from his work.
In 1507, Raphael met Bramante. Donato Bramante(1444-1514) - the largest representative of High Renaissance architecture. Himself famous work is the main temple of Western Christianity - the Basilica of St. Peter's in the Vatican. It was Bramante who built the refectory at this church, where Leonardo da Vinci later wrote his “Last Supper.” Leonardo's ideas in the field of urban planning had a great influence on him.
Meeting Bramante was of great importance for Raphael as an architect.
Raphael's popularity is growing, he receives many orders.

Rome

At the end of 1508, the artist received an invitation from Pope Julius II to Rome. He was supposed to decorate the pope's office with frescoes. The subject of the painting: four spheres of human spiritual activity: Theology, Philosophy, Jurisprudence and Poetry. The vault features allegorical figures and scenes. The four lunettes contain compositions that reveal the content of each of the four areas human activity: Disputation, School of Athens, Wisdom, Measure and Strength and Parnassus.
Let us dwell in more detail on just one fresco of the Vatican Palace - “The School of Athens” (1511).

Raphael. Fresco "School of Athens". 500x770 cm. Apostolic Palace(Vatican)
This fresco is considered one of the best works not only of Raphael, but also of Renaissance art in general.
Among the characters in the image, we can note the most famous personalities among schoolchildren: 2 – Epicurus (ancient Greek philosopher); 6 – Pythagoras (ancient Greek philosopher, mathematician and mystic, creator of the religious and philosophical school of the Pythagoreans); 12 – Socrates (ancient Greek philosopher); 15 – Aristotle (ancient Greek philosopher. Pupil of Plato. Educator of Alexander the Great); 16 – Diogenes (ancient Greek philosopher); 18 – Euclid (or Archimedes), ancient Greek mathematician); 20 – Claudius Ptolemy (astronomer, astrologer, mathematician, mechanic, optician, music theorist and geographer); 22 R – Apelles (ancient Greek painter, the features of Raael himself are noted).

Author: User:Bibi Saint-Pol – own work, from Wikipedia
Next, Raphael, together with his students, at the request of Pope Julius II, decorated dramatic episodes from the Christian history of Stanza d'Eliodoro (1511-1514) and Stanza del Incendio (1514-1517). Stanzas are the state rooms of the Vatican Palace.
The artist's fame grew, orders increased and exceeded Raphael's real capabilities, so he delegated some works to his assistants and students. At the same time as working on the frescoes, Raphael created cardboards of ten tapestries for decoration Sistine Chapel. In Rome, the artist also decorated the villa of the banker Agostino Chigi, who was his patron, with frescoes. Here is one of the frescoes from Greek mythology.

Raphael's fresco "The Triumph of Galatea" (c. 1512). 295x224 cm
Nereid (sea deity, according to appearance reminiscent of Slavic mermaids) Galatea fell in love with the shepherd Akidas. The Cyclops Polyphemus, also in love with Galatea, waylaid Akidas and crushed him with a rock; Galatea turned her unfortunate lover into a beautiful transparent river. In his fresco, Raphael moved away from the exact presentation of the plot and painted a scene known as the “kidnapping of Galatea.”
Raphael painted the Chigi Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria della Pace (“Prophets and Sibyls”, ca. 1514), and also built funeral chapel Chigi in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo.
In the Vatican, Raphael also carried out orders from churches to create altar images.

Raphael "Transfiguration" (1516-1520). Wood, tempera. 405x278 cm. Vatican Pinakothek
Raphael's last masterpiece was the majestic painting "Transfiguration" gospel story. It was painted by order of Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, the future Pope Clement VII, for the altar of the Cathedral of Saints Justus and Pastor in Narbonne. The upper part of the picture depicts the miracle of the transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor in front of the three apostles: Peter, James and John.
The lower part of the painting depicts other apostles and a demon-possessed youth (this part of the canvas was completed by Giulio Romano based on Raphael’s sketches).
The artist created a whole gallery of portraits, which we will talk about in a separate article.

Architecture

In Raphael's painting The Betrothal of the Virgin Mary (1504), a temple is depicted in the background. It is believed that this temple painted on canvas is Raphael’s first step in architecture.

Raphael "The Betrothal of the Virgin Mary" (1504). Wood, oil. 174-121 cm. Pinacoteca Brera (Milan)
This is a symbol, but also a manifesto of the master’s new architectural ideas.
The work of Raphael the architect represents a link between the works of Bramante and Palladio. After Bramante's death, Raphael took over as chief architect of the Cathedral of St. Peter's and completed the construction of the Vatican courtyard with loggias begun by Bramante. In 1508, Bramante received an order from Pope Julius II to build a gallery with a view of Rome. This covered arched gallery of the Vatican Palace, leading to the papal rooms, is located on the second floor, next to the Hall of Constantine. After Bramante's death in 1514, the construction of the gallery was completed by Raphael under Pope Leo X. Raphael's Loggia, the last major monumental cycle created under his leadership, is an ensemble that united architecture, painting and sculpture.

Loggias of Raphael in the Vatican Palace
Such Roman buildings by Raphael as the church of Sant'Eligio degli Orefici (1509) and the Chigi Chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo (1512-1520) are close in style to the works of Bramante.

Raphael. Church of Sant'Eligio degli Orefici

Drawings

In total, about 400 surviving drawings by Raphael are known. Among them there are both completed graphic works and preparatory drawings, sketches for paintings.

Raphael "Head of the Young Apostle" (1519-1520). Sketch for the painting “Transfiguration”
Engravings were created based on Raphael's drawings, although the artist himself did not make engravings. During Raphael's lifetime, the Italian engraver Marcantonio Raimondi created many engravings based on his works, and the author himself chose the designs for the engravings. And after Raphael’s death, engravings were created based on his drawings.

Raphael "Lucretia"

Marcantonio Raimondi “Lucrezia” (engraving after a drawing by Raphael)
Raphael died in Rome on April 6, 1520, at the age of 37, presumably from Roman fever, which he contracted while visiting an excavation site. He was buried in the Pantheon. On his tomb there is an epitaph: “Here lies the great Raphael, during whose life nature was afraid of being defeated, and after his death she was afraid to die.”

Sarcophagus of Raphael in the Pantheon

Painting by Raphael Santi

The Renaissance was a time of the highest artistic growth, when many wonderful painters, sculptors, and architects worked in Italy.
The work of Rafael Santi belongs to those phenomena of European culture that are not only covered with world fame, but have also gained special meaning- the highest guidelines in the spiritual life of humanity. For five centuries, his art has been perceived as one of the examples of aesthetic perfection.
Raphael's genius was revealed in painting, graphics, and architecture. Raphael's works represent the most complete, vivid expression of the classical line, the classical principle in the art of the High Renaissance. Raphael created a “universal image” of a beautiful person, perfect physically and spiritually, embodying the idea of ​​the harmonious beauty of existence.

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 wonderful person and a wonderful world.

Raphael (more precisely, Raffaello Santi) was born on April 6, 1483 in the city of Urbino. He received his first painting lessons from his father, Giovanni Santi. When Raphael was 11 years old, Giovanni Santi died and the boy was left an orphan (he lost the boy 3 years before the death of his father). Apparently, over the next 5-6 years he studied painting with Evangelista di Piandimeleto and Timoteo Viti, minor provincial masters.
The spiritual environment that surrounded Raphael from childhood was extremely beneficial. Raphael's father was the court artist and poet of the Duke of Urbino, Federigo da Montefeltro. A master of modest talent, but an educated man, he instilled in his son a love of art.

The first works of Raphael known to us were performed around 1500 - 1502, when he was 17-19 years old. These are miniature-sized compositions “The Three Graces” and “The Knight’s Dream”. 2,3 These simple-minded, still student-timid things are marked subtle poetry and sincerity of feeling. From the very first steps of creativity, Raphael’s talent is revealed in all its originality, his own artistic theme

In 1502, the first Raphael Madonna appears - “Madonna Solly” 4

Gradually, Raphael developed his own style and created his first masterpieces - “The Betrothal of the Virgin Mary to Joseph” (1504), “The Coronation of Mary” (circa 1504) for the Oddi altar. 5,6

In addition to large altar paintings, he writes small paintings: “Madonna Conestabile” (1502-1504), “Saint George Slaying the Dragon” (circa 1504-1505) and portraits - “Portrait of Pietro Bembo” (1504-1506) 7,8,9 . The theme of the Madonna is especially close to Raphael’s lyrical talent, and it is no coincidence that it will become one of the main ones in his art. Compositions depicting the Madonna and Child brought Raphael wide fame and popularity. The fragile, meek, dreamy Madonnas of the Umbrian period were replaced by more earthly, full-blooded images, their inner world became more complex, rich in emotional nuances. Raphael created a new type of image of the Madonna and Child - monumental, strict and lyrical at the same time, giving this topic unprecedented significance.

Florence

At the end of 1504 he moved to Florence. Here he meets Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Bartolomeo della Porta and many other Florentine masters. Carefully studies the painting techniques of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. A drawing by Raphael from the lost painting by Leonardo da Vinci “Leda and the Swan” and a drawing from “St. Matthew" Michelangelo. “...the techniques that he saw in the works of Leonardo and Michelangelo forced him to work even harder in order to extract from them unprecedented benefits for his art and his manner.” 10

“Portrait of a Lady with a Unicorn” (1505-1506, Rome, Galleria Borghese) was listed in museum catalog 18th century as "Saint Catherine";

in fact: the woman’s hands were folded differently, a cloak covered her shoulders, and there was a broken wheel and a palm branch - emblems of the saint’s martyrdom. During the restoration in 1935, X-rays revealed that these elements had been attributed by another hand, and when the top layer was removed, the painting appeared in its original, mundane form. “The Holy Family with a Lamb” (Madrid, Prado), with the date 1507, is an almost complete embodiment of Leonardo’s sketches, and, finally, “The Holy Family” (now in Alte Pinakothek Monaco), executed in 1507-1508 for Domenico Canigiani, son-in-law of Lorenzo Nasi. 11,12

Like the unicorn and necklace in the previous painting, the decoration in the Portrait of Maddalena Doni (1506, Florence) symbolizes chastity. characteristic images of faces. In “Portrait of a Lady with a Unicorn” (Rome, Galleria Borghese), “Portraits of the Doni Spouses” (Florence, Pitti Gallery), “Pregnant” (Florence, Pitti Gallery) and, finally, “Mute” (Urbino, National Gallery Marche) Sanzio works on poses, gives faces a dignified, stern, calm, sometimes a little sad expression, carefully designs costumes. 13. 14

Florentine Madonnas

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

Raphael's growing fame led to an increase in orders for Madonnas; he created the “Madonna of Granduca” (1505), “Madonna of the Carnations” (circa 1506), and “Madonna under the Canopy” (1506-1508). TO the best works This period includes the “Madonna of Terranuova” (1504-1505), “Madonna with the Goldfinch” (1506), “Madonna and Child and John the Baptist (The Beautiful Gardener)” (1507-1508). 15,16

Vatican

In the second half of 1508, Raphael moved to Rome (where he would spend the rest of his life) and became official artist papal court. He was commissioned to fresco the Stanza della Segnatura. For this stanza, Raphael painted frescoes reflecting four types of human intellectual activity: theology, jurisprudence, poetry and philosophy - “Disputa” (1508-1509), “Wisdom, Temperance and Strength” (1511), and the most outstanding “Parnassus” (1509 -1510) and the “School of Athens” (1510-1511). 17-20

Parnassus depicts Apollo with nine muses, surrounded by eighteen famous ancient Greek, Roman and Italian poets. “So, on the wall facing the Belvedere, where Parnassus and the spring of Helicon are, he painted on the top and slopes of the mountain a shady grove of laurel trees, in the greenery of which one can feel the trembling of the leaves, swaying under the gentlest breath of the winds, while in the air there is an endless many naked cupids, with the most charming expression on their faces, tear off laurel branches, braiding them into wreaths, scattered by them all over the hill, where everything is covered with a truly divine breath - both the beauty of the figures and the nobility of the painting itself, looking at which anyone who looks at it carefully is amazed at how a human genius could, despite all its imperfections simple paint, to ensure that, thanks to the perfection of the drawing, the pictorial image seems alive.”

“The School of Athens” is a brilliantly executed multi-figure (about 50 characters) composition, which presents ancient philosophers, many of whom Raphael gave the features of his contemporaries, for example, Plato is painted in the image of Leonardo da Vinci, Heraclitus in the image of Michelangelo, and standing at the right edge Ptolemy is very similar to the author of the fresco. “It represents the sages of the whole world, arguing with each other in every way... Among them there is Diogenes with his bowl, reclining on the steps, a figure very deliberate in its detachment and worthy of praise for its beauty and for the clothes so suitable for it... Beauty the astrologers and geometers mentioned above, who draw all sorts of figures and signs on tablets with compasses, is truly inexpressible.

In the Eliodoro stanza, “The Expulsion of Eliodorus from the Temple” (1511-1512), “Mass in Bolsena” (1512), “Attila under the Walls of Rome” (1513-1514) were created, but the most successful was the fresco “The Liberation of the Apostle Peter from Prison” (1513-1514) 21 . “The artist showed no less skill and talent in the scene where St. Peter, freed from his chains, leaves prison accompanied by an angel... And since this story is depicted by Raphael above the window, the entire wall appears darker, since the light blinds the viewer looking at the fresco. The natural light falling from the window so successfully competes with the depicted night light sources that it seems as if you really see against the background of the night darkness both the smoking flame of a torch and the radiance of an angel, conveyed so naturally and so truthfully that you would never say that this is just painting - such is the convincingness with which the artist embodied the most difficult idea. Indeed, on the armor one can discern one’s own and falling shadows, and reflections, and the smoky heat of the flame, standing out against the background of such a deep shadow that one can truly consider Raphael the teacher of all other artists, who achieved such a similarity in the depiction of the night that painting had never achieved before ."

In 1513-1516, Raphael, commissioned by the pope, was engaged in the production of cardboards with scenes from the Bible for ten tapestries, which were intended for the Sistine Chapel. The most successful cardboard is “Wonderful Catch” (in total, seven cardboards have survived to this day). 22

Roman Madonnas

In Rome, Raphael painted about ten Madonnas. The Madonna of Alba (1510), Madonna of Foligno (1512), Madonna of the Fish (1512-1514), and Madonna in the Armchair (circa 1513-1514) stand out for their majesty.

The most perfect creation of Raphael was the famous “Sistine Madonna” (1512-1513 )23 . This painting was commissioned by the Pope. The Sistine Madonna is truly symphonic. The interweaving and meeting of lines and masses of this canvas amazes with its internal rhythm and harmony. But the most phenomenal thing in this large canvas is the painter’s mysterious ability to bring all the lines, all the shapes, all the colors into such a wondrous correspondence that they serve only one, the artist’s main desire - to make us look, look tirelessly into the sad eyes of Mary.”

IN 1515-1516 years, together with his students, he created cardboards for carpets intended for decoration in holidays Sistine Chapel.

Last piece – « Transfiguration"(1518-1520) - performed with significant participation of students and was completed by them after the death of the master. 24

Features of Raphael's creativity

What is striking about Raphael Santi’s work is, first of all, his inexhaustible creative fantasy an artist the likes of which we do not see in such perfection in anyone else. The index of individual paintings and drawings by Raphael covers 1225 numbers; in all this mass of his works one cannot find anything superfluous, everything breathes simplicity and clarity, and here, as in a mirror, the whole world is reflected in its diversity. Even his Madonnas highest degree are different: from one artistic idea - an image of a young mother with a child - Raphael was able to extract so much perfect images, in which it can manifest itself, Another distinguishing feature Raphael's creativity is a combination of all spiritual gifts in wonderful harmony. Raphael has nothing dominant, everything is combined in extraordinary balance, in perfect beauty. The depth and strength of the design, the effortless symmetry and completeness of the compositions, the remarkable distribution of light and shadow, the truthfulness of life and character, the beauty of color, the understanding of the naked body and drapery - everything is harmoniously combined in his work. This multifaceted and harmonious idealism of the artist of the Renaissance, having absorbed almost all movements, did not submit to them in its creative power, but created its own original, clothed it in perfect forms, merging the Christian piety of the Middle Ages and the breadth of vision of the new man with the realism and plasticity of Greco -Roman world. Of the large crowd of his disciples, few rose above mere imitation. Giulio Romano, who took a significant part in Raphael's works and graduated from the Transfiguration, was Raphael's best student.