Raphael's Accomplishments
The start of the renaissance was a time of great change and reform. It signaled the start of a new era in history, an era where more and more people can learn. It is also a time where many great artists lived, artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. All three of these artists are known all around the world as the best of the renaissance era. They made many pieces, sculptures and designed many buildings. One would think that the one who lived the shortest life would not have as much surviving pieces, but Raphael even with his short life created many masterpieces. The School of Athens, many Madonna pieces, the Cherubini, and the Triumph of Galatea are just some of his more famous pieces. The School of Athens may be the most
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famous of his pieces because it is one that incorporates the ancient world into that of the renaissance world and the renaissance world into the modern world through its struggle between the idealistic and realistic. There is a long story into how the School of Athens came to be. To understand it fully one must first look at Raphael’s life, his painting techniques, what is shown in the School of Athens and why Raphael painted it.
Raphael was born in Urbino, Italy on April 6, 1483, his birth name was Raffaello Sanzio, but now he is more commonly as just Raffaello or his English name Raphael. His parents were Giovanni Santi and Magia di Battista Ciarl. His father was an artist as well, but he is not really well known. This is where Raphael got his start in art, with his father, who was also his first teacher. His father was a painter to some lesser nobles in the Umbria region and allowed Raphael to watch him and taught him some of the basics of painting. Both of his parents died when he was still young. After this Raphael went to Perugia to train. It is not known when exactly Raphael went there to start his training but he was considered a master by 1500. In Perugia Raphael studied under Pietro Perugino. He was a master painter who painted The Delivery of the Keys in the Sistine Chapel in 1481. Raphael helped Perugino on several pieces and gained professional knowledge through this. When he learned all he could in Perugia, Raphael moved to Florence the head of the early to mid-renaissance years in 1504. When Raphael was in Florence he spent his “days studying the works of the great masters like Leonardo and Michelangelo. He worked hard on his own technique, and hoped to one day match the skill and versatility of his heroes” (PBS). Raphael stayed in Florence for a few years studying the techniques of the high renaissance. He was then called to Rome.
Raphael was called to Rome in 1508 by Pope Julius II.
The pope called Raphael because he wanted only the best painters to paint in the Vatican. Pope Julius II had heard of the work that Raphael had done in Florence and of all the good things people said about him, and he believed that Raphael would be perfectly suited to paint his personal apartments. The frescoes that Raphael painted in the papal apartments led to the growth of his popularity and fame, also since he was able to paint for the pope and many other powerful people around Rome who recommended his work. The first paintings he did in Rome were the frescoes in the papal apartments in Vatican from 1508 to 1524. He then went on to paint the Triumph of Galatea and other works at Villa Farnesina in 1511 and his last painting in 1520 was the Transfiguration, which is in the Vatican Museums now. He also did many other pieces such as Madonnas, frescoes in churches, and the tapestries for the Vatican during the time that he was not working on the main pieces he did in Rome. He became known for his Madonnas and large figure compositions in Rome. Raphael then died in 1520 on his 37th birthday from a high …show more content…
fever.
In Florence Raphael studied the works of Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo to learn more about the high renaissance painters.
He enjoyed their styles but “he wished to develop a calmer and more-extroverted style that would serve as a popular, universally accessible form of visual communication” (Britannica, pg. 2). The styles of Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo were more to create perfect works that strove to be as close to heaven as possible. Raphael, while he enjoyed this perfection wanted his pieces to be a bit more personal. In his works, Raphael sought perfection but he did not let it rule him so much that you could not imagine yourself there like Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo did. While there was a sense of detachment with his works they were done in a way that a person could imagine themselves into the painting or could envision seeing one of the people from his pieces walking around the street. One such piece would be The Triumph of Galatea, when Raphael finished painting it many people asked him who the model was for Galatea because she was beautiful; however she was not a real person. He had taken the most attractive attributes from the women around him and combined them to create this perfect woman. A style technique that Raphael tried to implement towards the end of his life was combining two stories, two time periods, and two events into one piece. He did this in his last piece the Transfiguration. It is a painting that “illustrates two episodes narrated
in succession in the Gospel according to Matthew: the Transfiguration above, with Christ in glory between the prophets Moses and Elijah, and below, in the foreground, the meeting of the Apostles with the obsessed youth who will be miraculously cured by Christ on his return from Mount Tabor” (Vatican Museums). He combined them so perfectly that one would almost think that it was one story alone. He was very successful with this new style technique however he died before he could complete any more pieces that were like this. Raphael’s style of painting while a study in perfection, like other renaissance painters also tried to make it so that his pieces were not so imposing to the viewer, and he tried to create new techniques and styles during his lifetime.
He was commissioned by Pope Julius II to paint four rooms on the second floor of the Pontifical Palace in 1508. These four rooms came to be known as the Stanze of Raphael, in the pope’s apartments. They are Constantine hall, Heliodorus hall, Segnatura, and the Fire in the Borgo room. In Constantine hall is a series of paintings Raphael did of the life of Emperor Constantine, this room was often used by the popes as a greeting room. In Heliodorus hall is the Theft of Heliodorus that Raphael painted, this room was often used as a waiting room to see the pope. In the Segnatura room is where The School of Athens is located Raphael painted this piece from 1508 to 1511. The popes used this room as an office. The fire in the Borgo room has the Fire in the Borgo painting in it, and was used as a dining room. In the Segnatura room Raphael also painted the Cardinal and Theological Virtues and the Law, Parnassus with Apollo and the Muses, and the Disputation of the Most Holy Sacrament along with the School of Athens which may have been “established by a theologian and meant to represent the three greatest categories of the human spirit: Truth, Good and Beauty” (Vatican Museums). Truth is split into two parts the supernatural truth and the rational truth. The painting that represents the supernatural truth is the Disputation of the Most Holy Sacrament. The School of Athens represents the rational truth. Good is represented in the Cardinal and Theological Virtues and the Law, beauty in Parnassus with Apollo and the Muses. It is fitting that the greatest categories of the human spirit be in the pope’s apartment because he is the link between God and the people for the Catholic Church.
The School of Athens represents the rational truth because it depicts the ancient Greek philosophers along with two of the greatest renaissance painters Michelangelo and Raphael. The philosophers that Raphael includes in the School of Athens are Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, Diogenes, Heracleitus, Euclid, Zoroaster, and Ptolemy. Each of these philosophers has an identifying element so that the viewer knows who each person is supposed to be.
“Dead center, walking toward us, disputing, gesticulating, are the "peripatetic philosophers" Plato and Aristotle. Plato, on the left, is identified by the Timaeus in his left hand, its title clearly visible, while with his right hand he points upward to the heavens, expounding meanwhile on his "doctrine of ideal forms" before his rapt disciples. Aristotle, on the other hand, carries the Nichomachean Ethics, while his right hand is stretched over the earth, perhaps in a gesture of moderation.” (Southgate pg. 969)
Plato and Aristotle are easily recognizable because they are at the center of the painting and they also hold works of theirs in their hands. The lesser known philosophers though one would need to know who they are to be able to pick them out in the painting. Ptolemy is on the bottom right of the painting with the earthly sphere in his hand. Zoroaster is on the bottom right of the painting by Ptolemy, holding the heavenly sphere. Pythagoras is in the left foreground and appears to be discussing something. Diogenes is reclining on the steps below and to the right of Plato and Aristotle. Euclid is in the right foreground showing something to some disciples. Heracleitus is in the center left foreground leaning on a pedestal. Heracleitus looks like Michelangelo and so also represents him. Raphael is close to Ptolemy and Zoroaster almost hidden behind a pillar. Completing the picture are Athena and Apollo shown as statues on either side in the background. The School of Athens was a challenge for Raphael because unlike today where there is an idea of what the ancient philosophers may have looked like because of busts and statues found of them, he had only the iconography to work with. The reason Raphael may have put Plato and Aristotle in the center of the painting may be because it is the two sides of the argument for philosophy. Plato is the idealistic philosopher and Aristotle is the realistic philosopher. These are arguments that philosophy has had about living since ancient times. Raphael may have put these two philosophers together to remind the viewers that the idealistic and realistic are always at war and the problem is finding the right mix between the two. Finding a way to bring balance between “theory and practice, between the ideal and the reality, between the universal and the particular, between the contemplative and the man of action” (Southgate pg. 969) is what every government, culture, and man have to figure out. This is still an argument that continues on today, the need to find balance in the reality of life and the idealism of what we wish life to be. That is what makes The School of Athens so iconic, is that it is something that everyone has to decide and how to incorporate the realistic and idealistic together in life in the ancient era, in the renaissance era and in the modern era. The School of Athens is an iconic painting that Raphael painted in 1508 to 1511 that shows the problem that everyone must solve, that because of his painting techniques that he gained through his life allowed the viewer to see it and experience it. The School of Athens is the most famous of Raphael’s paintings because it shows a struggle that humans have dealt with since ancient times and will continue to struggle with. Raphael may have lived a short life, but his love of painting made sure that there was more than enough for everyone to remember him by. The other renaissance artists Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci were amazing artists as well who left their mark on history along with Raphael. The renaissance era was on that changed human history.
famous of his pieces because it is one that incorporates the ancient world into that of the renaissance world and the renaissance world into the modern world through its struggle between the idealistic and realistic. There is a long story into how the School of Athens came to be. To understand it fully one must first look at Raphael’s life, his painting techniques, what is shown in the School of Athens and why Raphael painted it.
Raphael was born in Urbino, Italy on April 6, 1483, his birth name was Raffaello Sanzio, but now he is more commonly as just Raffaello or his English name Raphael. His parents were Giovanni Santi and Magia di Battista Ciarl. His father was an artist as well, but he is not really well known. This is where Raphael got his start in art, with his father, who was also his first teacher. His father was a painter to some lesser nobles in the Umbria region and allowed Raphael to watch him and taught him some of the basics of painting. Both of his parents died when he was still young. After this Raphael went to Perugia to train. It is not known when exactly Raphael went there to start his training but he was considered a master by 1500. In Perugia Raphael studied under Pietro Perugino. He was a master painter who painted The Delivery of the Keys in the Sistine Chapel in 1481. Raphael helped Perugino on several pieces and gained professional knowledge through this. When he learned all he could in Perugia, Raphael moved to Florence the head of the early to mid-renaissance years in 1504. When Raphael was in Florence he spent his “days studying the works of the great masters like Leonardo and Michelangelo. He worked hard on his own technique, and hoped to one day match the skill and versatility of his heroes” (PBS). Raphael stayed in Florence for a few years studying the techniques of the high renaissance. He was then called to Rome.
Raphael was called to Rome in 1508 by Pope Julius II.
The pope called Raphael because he wanted only the best painters to paint in the Vatican. Pope Julius II had heard of the work that Raphael had done in Florence and of all the good things people said about him, and he believed that Raphael would be perfectly suited to paint his personal apartments. The frescoes that Raphael painted in the papal apartments led to the growth of his popularity and fame, also since he was able to paint for the pope and many other powerful people around Rome who recommended his work. The first paintings he did in Rome were the frescoes in the papal apartments in Vatican from 1508 to 1524. He then went on to paint the Triumph of Galatea and other works at Villa Farnesina in 1511 and his last painting in 1520 was the Transfiguration, which is in the Vatican Museums now. He also did many other pieces such as Madonnas, frescoes in churches, and the tapestries for the Vatican during the time that he was not working on the main pieces he did in Rome. He became known for his Madonnas and large figure compositions in Rome. Raphael then died in 1520 on his 37th birthday from a high …show more content…
fever.
In Florence Raphael studied the works of Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo to learn more about the high renaissance painters.
He enjoyed their styles but “he wished to develop a calmer and more-extroverted style that would serve as a popular, universally accessible form of visual communication” (Britannica, pg. 2). The styles of Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo were more to create perfect works that strove to be as close to heaven as possible. Raphael, while he enjoyed this perfection wanted his pieces to be a bit more personal. In his works, Raphael sought perfection but he did not let it rule him so much that you could not imagine yourself there like Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo did. While there was a sense of detachment with his works they were done in a way that a person could imagine themselves into the painting or could envision seeing one of the people from his pieces walking around the street. One such piece would be The Triumph of Galatea, when Raphael finished painting it many people asked him who the model was for Galatea because she was beautiful; however she was not a real person. He had taken the most attractive attributes from the women around him and combined them to create this perfect woman. A style technique that Raphael tried to implement towards the end of his life was combining two stories, two time periods, and two events into one piece. He did this in his last piece the Transfiguration. It is a painting that “illustrates two episodes narrated
in succession in the Gospel according to Matthew: the Transfiguration above, with Christ in glory between the prophets Moses and Elijah, and below, in the foreground, the meeting of the Apostles with the obsessed youth who will be miraculously cured by Christ on his return from Mount Tabor” (Vatican Museums). He combined them so perfectly that one would almost think that it was one story alone. He was very successful with this new style technique however he died before he could complete any more pieces that were like this. Raphael’s style of painting while a study in perfection, like other renaissance painters also tried to make it so that his pieces were not so imposing to the viewer, and he tried to create new techniques and styles during his lifetime.
He was commissioned by Pope Julius II to paint four rooms on the second floor of the Pontifical Palace in 1508. These four rooms came to be known as the Stanze of Raphael, in the pope’s apartments. They are Constantine hall, Heliodorus hall, Segnatura, and the Fire in the Borgo room. In Constantine hall is a series of paintings Raphael did of the life of Emperor Constantine, this room was often used by the popes as a greeting room. In Heliodorus hall is the Theft of Heliodorus that Raphael painted, this room was often used as a waiting room to see the pope. In the Segnatura room is where The School of Athens is located Raphael painted this piece from 1508 to 1511. The popes used this room as an office. The fire in the Borgo room has the Fire in the Borgo painting in it, and was used as a dining room. In the Segnatura room Raphael also painted the Cardinal and Theological Virtues and the Law, Parnassus with Apollo and the Muses, and the Disputation of the Most Holy Sacrament along with the School of Athens which may have been “established by a theologian and meant to represent the three greatest categories of the human spirit: Truth, Good and Beauty” (Vatican Museums). Truth is split into two parts the supernatural truth and the rational truth. The painting that represents the supernatural truth is the Disputation of the Most Holy Sacrament. The School of Athens represents the rational truth. Good is represented in the Cardinal and Theological Virtues and the Law, beauty in Parnassus with Apollo and the Muses. It is fitting that the greatest categories of the human spirit be in the pope’s apartment because he is the link between God and the people for the Catholic Church.
The School of Athens represents the rational truth because it depicts the ancient Greek philosophers along with two of the greatest renaissance painters Michelangelo and Raphael. The philosophers that Raphael includes in the School of Athens are Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, Diogenes, Heracleitus, Euclid, Zoroaster, and Ptolemy. Each of these philosophers has an identifying element so that the viewer knows who each person is supposed to be.
“Dead center, walking toward us, disputing, gesticulating, are the "peripatetic philosophers" Plato and Aristotle. Plato, on the left, is identified by the Timaeus in his left hand, its title clearly visible, while with his right hand he points upward to the heavens, expounding meanwhile on his "doctrine of ideal forms" before his rapt disciples. Aristotle, on the other hand, carries the Nichomachean Ethics, while his right hand is stretched over the earth, perhaps in a gesture of moderation.” (Southgate pg. 969)
Plato and Aristotle are easily recognizable because they are at the center of the painting and they also hold works of theirs in their hands. The lesser known philosophers though one would need to know who they are to be able to pick them out in the painting. Ptolemy is on the bottom right of the painting with the earthly sphere in his hand. Zoroaster is on the bottom right of the painting by Ptolemy, holding the heavenly sphere. Pythagoras is in the left foreground and appears to be discussing something. Diogenes is reclining on the steps below and to the right of Plato and Aristotle. Euclid is in the right foreground showing something to some disciples. Heracleitus is in the center left foreground leaning on a pedestal. Heracleitus looks like Michelangelo and so also represents him. Raphael is close to Ptolemy and Zoroaster almost hidden behind a pillar. Completing the picture are Athena and Apollo shown as statues on either side in the background. The School of Athens was a challenge for Raphael because unlike today where there is an idea of what the ancient philosophers may have looked like because of busts and statues found of them, he had only the iconography to work with. The reason Raphael may have put Plato and Aristotle in the center of the painting may be because it is the two sides of the argument for philosophy. Plato is the idealistic philosopher and Aristotle is the realistic philosopher. These are arguments that philosophy has had about living since ancient times. Raphael may have put these two philosophers together to remind the viewers that the idealistic and realistic are always at war and the problem is finding the right mix between the two. Finding a way to bring balance between “theory and practice, between the ideal and the reality, between the universal and the particular, between the contemplative and the man of action” (Southgate pg. 969) is what every government, culture, and man have to figure out. This is still an argument that continues on today, the need to find balance in the reality of life and the idealism of what we wish life to be. That is what makes The School of Athens so iconic, is that it is something that everyone has to decide and how to incorporate the realistic and idealistic together in life in the ancient era, in the renaissance era and in the modern era. The School of Athens is an iconic painting that Raphael painted in 1508 to 1511 that shows the problem that everyone must solve, that because of his painting techniques that he gained through his life allowed the viewer to see it and experience it. The School of Athens is the most famous of Raphael’s paintings because it shows a struggle that humans have dealt with since ancient times and will continue to struggle with. Raphael may have lived a short life, but his love of painting made sure that there was more than enough for everyone to remember him by. The other renaissance artists Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci were amazing artists as well who left their mark on history along with Raphael. The renaissance era was on that changed human history.