Raphael Paintings

The masters of the High Renaissance -Raphael 

 Introduction

Raphael was an important figure of Italian High Renaissance classicism. He is best known for his La belle jardinière ("The Madonna of the Beautiful Garden"), including the Sistine Madonna, and his large figure composition in the palace of the Vatican in Rome. He was a great Italian Renaissance painter and architect. He became Paraguino's apprentice in 1504. Living in Florence from 1504 to 1507, he began painting a series of Madonnas in Rome from 1509 to 1511. Later on, he painted another fresco cycle for the Vatican in the stands of the lyodoro room of heliodorus. In 1514 Pope Julius hired Raphael as his chief architect around the same time he completed his last work in his series of the madonnas and oil painting called the Sistine Madonna. 

Early life

He was born on April 6th, 1483, in Urbino, Italy. At the time, Urbino was a cultural center that encouraged the arts. Raphael's father, Giovanni Santi, was a painter under the Duke of Urbino Frederico de Montefeltro. Giovanni taught the young Raphael basic thinking technique and exposed him to the principles of humanistic philosophy at the Duke of Urbino's court. In 1494, his father died, and he took over the daunting task of managing his father's workshop.

Success story and artworks

For his talent and brilliant artworks, he soon climbed the success stairs and was considered one of the finest painters of town. During his teens, he was commissioned to paint for the Church of San Nicola in the neighboring town of Costello. In 1507 created his most known work in Florence, internment, an expressive work of Michelangelo. The School of Athens (1509-11) was one of his best artworks and one of the four central frescoes on the walls of the Stanze di Raffaello in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The four paintings epitomize Philosophy, Poetry, Theology, and Law, with The School of Athens representing Philosophy.

Death

 He breathed his last on April 6th, 1520, on his 37th birthday, in Rome very suddenly, and no one knew about that. He worked on "Transfiguration" before he died, which was kept on his coffin during his funeral. After his death, he was regarded as the leading artist figure of the Italian high renaissance classicism. "Transfiguration" was called the "most beautiful and most divine" work by Giorgio Vasari.