The work of Raphael Santi

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

The work of Rafael Santi is connected with the spiritual culture of the Renaissance, where the ideals of humanism and beauty were embodied. Raphael, as a great master, is of interest to art critics and art historians, extensive research literature is devoted to his era. Perhaps all this is connected not only with the universal recognition of his grandiose achievements in painting, graphics, architecture - but also with that clear, calm and ideal structure of all Raphael's art. It is difficult for me, being an inexperienced (or rather, only studying) person in such a delicate field as fine art, to talk about the lovely silhouettes created by Raphael and, moreover, even for myself, but evaluate them.

So I read a collection of articles under common name"Raphael and his time", where scientists set out the problems (and ways to solve it) of the great artist's work. The editorial board of the collection notes in the introductory article that the number of questions on the work of Raphael is incommensurably greater. The most important of them are discussed in research work placed in the book. The purpose of creating the collection was "the study of his work in the context of artistic quest, philosophy, aesthetics, literature, music of the Renaissance", which "allows you to more fully reveal both the significance of Raphael for his time, and the significance of time for the formation and improvement of a brilliant artist." (p. 5) It is probably difficult to speak out about the great, because any words, I think, are not capable of expressing all the feelings that are conveyed by colors, strokes in the works of masters, gifted painters.

Please excuse me for such an obscure motive for writing the test, but in this moment I am equally interested in Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael. This year, as well as in the past, a lot of documentary and popular science films were watched about the life and work of Michelangelo, a little earlier Leonardo da Vinci got into the field of view of mass television. In a word, I can name the stages of Raphael's work as a gap in education (personally mine). Moreover, emotionally, I perceive the work of this particular master easier. Unfortunately, not a single work of the collection “Raphael and His Time” reflects the issue of the legacy of the era of Raphael, which resulted in Pre-Raphaelism. It seems to me that the works of representatives of Raphael's aesthetics in art are so beautiful, exquisitely aristocratic and, in my opinion, somewhat imitative. By the way, in the word "imitation" one cannot see only negative side"probable lack of personality traits." Presumably, Raphael himself wrote to Baldassara Castiglione that in search of a single example that embodies the dream of the ideal, one has to “see many beauties ...”, “but due to the lack ... in beautiful women, I use some idea ... that comes to my mind” . (p. 10). In these words, I see an explanation for the very attempt to imitate the beautiful - the desire to reproduce the beauty encountered at times gives rise not only to copying, but also to the multiplication of the number of admirers of beauty too. Understanding of beauty is brought up by imitation. “The art of Raphael stands out for its rare ability for broad artistic generalization. His natural talent imperiously gravitated toward synthesis. As V.N. Grashchenkov, Rafael himself "saw the task of his own art" not in "imitation of the ancients", but in "creative familiarization with their artistic ideals." (p. 10).

About what I didn’t know before and the impression of the materials I read test. About the genius of Raphael Santi, whose “some idea” is Platonic in origin. “But she is understood by him more specifically and sensually - tangibly, as a kind of visible ideal, which he is guided by as a model. This ideal of artistic perfection noticeably changed as his work developed, acquiring an ever more full-blooded and meaningful character”, “performing… an evolution from intimacy to monumentality” (p. 10) in terms of the harmonic world.

The work of Raphael Santi

“He started in Urbino as a boy, probably in his father's workshop - a little artist, a little jeweler - then he studied in the workshop of Timoteo Vitti. Then there was Perugia. From those initial times, the “Crucifixion” has been preserved. Rafael here is just a faithful student of Perugino. He copies the style of the master, his manner so much that, as the well-known Soviet art critic B.R. Vipper, one could hardly have guessed that this was not Perugino, if not for the signature of Raphael. (A. Warsaw).

From 1500, Raphael worked in the workshop of Perugino. Of course, the influence of this master on Raphael was decisive. In his native Urbino, the style of the young Raphael was formed, the entire initial period of creativity flowed in the quiet mountain towns of Umbria. Right at the beginning creative way Raphael was influenced by his provincial teachers, then he comes to Perugino's workshop. V.N. Grashchenkov says that in the methods of composition, the “stories” easily approached the representative structure of the altar image. In turn, "history" is a type of multi-figure composition. “Renaissance artists got acquainted with ancient reliefs, which led to the development of the structural and rhythmic principles of the new classical style. This trend towards monumental enlargement of forms, towards simplicity and clarity of the whole, Raphael brought to perfection. The scientist writes that the architectonic nature of Raphael's painting was the result of a representative tradition that he inherited from the art of his native Urbino. From the works of Piero della Francesca, who lived in the city for a long time. This legacy of Urbino was reworked by Raphael, felt deeper and more fruitfully. Following the examples of the Florentines, Raphael mastered the plastic human body and expression of living human feeling. Urbino was one of the artistic centers in the 60s-70s. 15th century At the invitation of the ruler of the city, masters of Italy and even artists from other countries worked there. The works of the masters, their paintings and the embodied architectural thought, had a decisive influence on the formation of the ideals of Bramante, a native of the Urbino environs. Probably, all this diversity had the same effect on Raphael. It was the spirit of true classicism. Having met in Rome many years later, Rafael and Bramante quite easily found common ground in their views, precisely because of the source of their ideals, which was the artistic life of Urbino. It is known that the work of Piero della Francesca influenced the new direction of Umbrian painting with its "perspective synthesis of form and color" (R. Longhi). This was also perceived by Raphael, through his Umbrian teachers. The Betrothal of Mary is an independent and powerful work.

"Betrothal of Mary" written in 1504 (Milan, Brera). All figures “form a very integral and beautiful spatial-rhythmic grouping. Free space the deserted square serves as a pause between the figures, the slight movement of which is conveyed by smooth, wavy lines, and the calm, slender forms of the rotunda temple, the dome of which repeats the semicircular completion of the whole picture. And even in the coloring, albeit not possessing the transparency and airiness of Piero della Francesca, Rafael managed to find the proper harmony. His dense and pure colors - red, blue, green, ocher - are well combined in a slight yellowish overall tone, with its warmth softening the excessive dryness of the pattern and hard color.

This is a verbatim quotation of the description of the painting given by Grashchenkov. I am attaching only a black and white reproduction, so I will use the exact wording of a specialist. It is very important for me that many assessments of the scientists themselves, researchers of Raphael's work, are preserved in the control, so I will quote a description of another early work of the artist - "Madonnas of Conestabile" (St. Petersburg, Hermitage). “... written by him most likely in late 1502 - early 1503. Sad memories of a mother who died early, charming pictures of her native places merged here into a single harmonious image, into a pure gentle melody of a naive, but sincere poetic feeling. Rounded lines softly outline the figures of the Mother of God and the baby. They are echoed by the outlines of the spring landscape. The round frame of the picture appears as a natural completion of the rhythmic play of lines. The fragile, girlish image of Mary, the mood of quiet thoughtfulness is well matched by the desert landscape - with the mirror-like surface of the lake, with slightly green hillsides, with thin trees, still devoid of foliage, with the coolness of snowy mountain peaks shining in the distance.

... However, this small picture is still executed in tempera, with an almost miniature subtlety of writing and a simplified interpretation of figures and landscape. Noteworthy is the story that accompanies the appearance of the painting in the Hermitage, which is given in the article by T.K. Kustodieva "Paintings of Raphael in the Hermitage". The name of the work by Raphael is “Madonna del libro”, which was completed at the request of Alfani di Diamante. Despite a number of doubts about this, it is obvious that this particular painting is mentioned among the property of the owners in 1660. It is she who is listed in the inventories of 1665, after the death of Marcello Alfani. After the Alfani family received the title of counts della Staffa in the 18th century, the family, through marriage, was united with the Conestabile family. Hence the genus Conestabile della Staffa. The painting was kept in the family for centuries until, in 1869, Count Scipio Conestabile, due to financial difficulties, was forced to sell the art collection. Among them was the famous Madonna by Raphael. It should be mentioned that Kustodieva notes in the article that for his little masterpiece, Rafael also created the original frame, and the stucco-ornament was made on the same board that served as the basis for painting. Through Count Stroganov, as well as the director of the Hermitage A.S. Gedeonov, "Madonna del libro" was purchased for a lot of money and presented by Alexander II to his wife Maria Alexandrovna. Kustodieva writes: “In connection with the development of the type of half-figured image of Mary at the end of the Umbrian period, it becomes possible to accurately date the Conestabile Madonna. ... It seems to us the most convincing ... 1504, the end of the Umbrian period, until the fall of this year, Raphael moved to Florence. The basis of such dating is a stylistic analysis of the master's early works. These include "Simon's Madonna" and "Madonna of Salt", which date, as a rule, to 1500-1501. In both paintings, Mary is located frontally, the baby is placed so that his body is against the background of the mother's figure, without going beyond her cloak. The postures of Christ show great similarity. The figure of Mary almost completely fills the foreground, leaving only a minimal space for the landscape on the right and left. A comparison of these works with the Conestabile Madonna shows that the Hermitage painting is the next step in the development of such compositions. … Thus, the characters are united not only outwardly, but are endowed with one mood of concentrated thoughtfulness. ... "Madonna Conestabile" most often coexists with "Madonna Terranuova", which is recognized by all researchers as one of the first paintings created by the master in Florence. Her "Florentine" origin is proved by the undoubted influence of Leonardo da Vinci. (T.K. Kustodieva "The Works of Raphael in the Hermitage"). V.N. Grashchenkov notes that the painting "Madonna Conestabile" only marked the beginning of the creation of those paintings where, as an artist, Raphael goes much further, combining "the former Umbrian grace" with "purely Florentine plasticity." His "Madonnas" "lose their former fragility and prayerful contemplation" and become "more earthly and humane", "more complex in conveying the nuances of a living feeling." Four years later, in Florence (1504–1508), he was already independently studying everything that this highest art school in Italy could give him. "He learned a lot from Leonardo and the young Michelangelo, became close to Fra Bartolomeo ... He first seriously came into contact with the works of ancient plastic." (p. 12). Florence was at that time "the cradle of the Italian Renaissance". This city remained faithful to republican and humanistic ideals. And is it worth talking about how generous Florence is with talents? Michelangelo, Leonardo… Names alone, of course, are not enough to comprehend the grandeur of the talent of these masters, but given the knowledge of the little that is told in the media, one can imagine the merits of both Michelangelo and Leonardo. A. Varshavsky writes: “Raphael spends four years in Florence. Leonardo (more precisely, on the creations of Leonardo, the study was, so to speak, correspondence) he learns to depict the movement of figures. Michelangelo has plasticity, the ability to calmly convey a sense of dynamism. (p. 128). The paintings of those years are widely known - "Madonna in the Meadow" (1505 or 1506), "Madonna with a Goldfinch" (c. 1506) and "Beautiful gardener" (1507). These paintings are distinguished, according to Grashchenkov, by "a more compact grouping of figures" and "greater ideality of the landscape." The researcher points to the borrowing of this type of composition by Raphael from Leonardo. “After the monotony of Perugino’s artistic methods, Raphael should have realized with particular acuteness all the infinite richness of the mature art of Leonardo when he first met him in Florence.” (“Raphael and his time”, p. 24). As Grashchenkov notes, Rafael “refused the psychological refinement of Leonardo, which was alien to him, in the name of a simpler and clearer, ... more available expression beauty of motherhood. (ibid.). According to experts, Raphael was little attracted by the composition of the so-called "holy interview", "where the Mother of God was depicted on a throne, surrounded by saints and angels." Therefore, he was attracted by a different interpretation of the image of the Madonna. “These are numerous, more often ... half-figured images ... where she (the Mother of God) is represented tenderly embracing a child who responds to her with his caress.” (ibid.). Grashchenkov calls this a "deeply human reincarnation of ancient iconography" and suggests that it was in the reliefs of the Padua Altar that Donatello could have drawn the idea "Madonna Tempi" Raphael. The researcher writes that this picture is “the most ardent, most humanly direct expression of maternal love". (ibid.). “Madonnas” by Raphael “live in harmony with their feelings, in harmony with nature, with people. ... These "Madonnas" were called to serve religious thoughts, as once ... icons. But in their appearance there is nothing that would arouse the thought of the ascetic ideas of Christianity. This is a happy Christianity…”. (ibid., p. 24).

It is worth noting that Rafael did not stop at the achieved results and "strived for more intense plasticity in the construction of the group." Despite the modest size of the paintings, the monumental scope and inner drama of the images force us to admit that the master “with unprecedented emotionality is able to convey the protective power of warm motherly embraces.” (ibid.). However, Raphael avoids the “tragic stiffness” that “deprives the body of freedom of movement,” a manner so characteristic of Michelangelo.

Scientists emphasize the fact that “Raphael's fantasy is visited by a different image of the Madonna - solemn and sad, as if aware of what sacrifice she must bring to people. Such a composition is always conceived by him as an image of a standing Mary with a baby in her arms. (ibid.). Previous "Sistine Madonna" work, can be called certain stages of the search means of expression. I looked through reproductions of some Madonnas, but, not being a specialist, I hardly noticed any features inherent in the stylistic change. Of course, each work is valuable in itself, and I like this feature in the work of any master. Every painting is a masterpiece. Despite a more fluent knowledge of the stages of Raphael's work, my attitude towards the great painters, sculptors, architects will always remain at the level of "NO DISCUSSION!" and you can do whatever you want with me. If you allow me, I will say what I consider true for myself: Raphael's works, not only picturesque, but everything, everything, are very recognizable "energetically". And if, at this very level, sympathy occurs between the viewer and the author of the picture, the meaning artistic technique may be considered progressive or outdated - this will not spoil the pleasure for me personally. Only those who do nothing do not make mistakes. And a talented artist who lived so long ago is very easy to discuss and talk about his work, constantly comparing with the works of no less talented…. I am concerned about evaluative opinions, articles that allow one or another "expert" to write and publish. When an artist is criticized by an artist, this is (for me) an understandable event. A connoisseur can love, it's better for everyone else not to pretend to be art historians. Don't like it - don't watch it. Agree, the picture cannot respond to an unfair assessment, and it cannot respond to praise either! And this picture (“The Sistine Madonna”) is so perfect in compositional solution that the viewer seems to be present at the sacrament depicted on it. Now, I will allow myself some quotes about the "Sistine Madonna", from the article "On the Art of Raphael":

“Wishing to present the appearance of the Mother of God as a visible miracle, Raphael boldly introduces the naturalistic motif of the parted curtain. Usually, angels open such a veil... But in Raphael's painting, the curtain opened on its own, drawn by an unknown force. There is also a touch of supernaturalness in the ease with which Mary, clutching her heavy son, walks, barely touching the surface of the cloud with her bare feet. In his immortal creation, Raphael combined the features of the highest religious ideality with the highest humanity, presenting the queen of heaven with a sad son in her arms - proud, unattainable, mournful - descending to meet people.

“It is easy to see that there is neither earth nor sky in the picture. There is no familiar landscape or architectural scenery in the depths.”

“The whole rhythmic structure of the picture is such that it inevitably, again and again, draws our attention to its center, to where the Madonna rises above everything.”

"Different generations different people saw in the "Sistine Madonna" their own. Some saw in it the expression of only a religious idea. Others interpreted the picture from the point of view of the moral and philosophical content hidden in it. Still others valued artistic perfection in it. But, apparently, all these three aspects are inseparable from each other. (all quotations are from the article by V.N. Grashchenkov).

A. Varshavsky in the article “The Sistine Madonna” quotes Vasari: “He (Raphael) performed for the black monks (monastery) of St. Sixtus plaque (image) of the main altar, with the apparition of Our Lady to St. Sixtus and St. Barbara; creation is unique and unique. In 1425, “the former nunnery passed to the Benedictine monks of the congregation of St. Justin in Padua. ... He is now directly subordinate to the pope, he is exempt from taxation and taxes, the abbot of the monastery receives the right to wear a miter. Pope Julius II, ... united the monastery of Monte Cassino with this congregation (...). Monastery of St. Sixtus found himself in the powerful congregation of Monte Cassino, whose rector now bore the title Heads of the Benedictines, Chancellor and Grand Chaplain of the Roman Empire (...). These Benedictines are the very "black monks" that Vasari reported about. (ibid.).

In 1508, on the recommendation of Donato Bramante, Raphael was invited to Rome on behalf of Julius II. Bramante was at that time the chief architect of the Vatican and, as you know, was part of the circle close to the pope. “He (Raphael) settled in the Eternal City, probably at the end of 1508, perhaps a little earlier, not without the assistance, perhaps, of the papal architect Bramante, who entered into great power in those years. However, Raphael undoubtedly owed his appearance in Rome first of all to himself - his indefatigable passion for improvement, for everything new, for large-scale and large-scale work. (A. Warsaw).

Scientists do not point to a direct relationship between Raphael and Bramante (given the help that the latter provides to Raphael, it is natural to assume this), but they do not deny such a possibility. Rather, they were good acquaintances or friends. As I.A. Bartenev in the article “Raphael and Architecture”: “Raphael was invited to Rome to work on the painting of the Vatican Palace. This work took a long time. In 1509, the artist received a permanent post of "apostolic painter" under Pope Julius II, who entrusted him with painting "stanz". During these years, he works in parallel with Bramante, who has a great influence on him. Undoubtedly, then Raphael comprehended a lot in architecture. During this period, Bramante develops a project and begins construction of the Cathedral of St. Petra - the central building of the era. There is no doubt that Bramante initiates Raphael in the course of his work, which great importance for the next stage of construction. He became both a mentor and patron of the young master. Working on the Vatican Palace, Raphael focused his main attention on painting the four halls of the papal chambers. The frescoes of the "stanz" of the Vatican are perfectly connected with the interior, they are inseparable from the architecture. This is one of the most striking and convincing examples of a true synthesis of the arts of the Renaissance." According to Grashchenkov, Raphael's Vatican frescoes, together with Leonardo's The Last Supper and Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling, are the pinnacle of Renaissance monumental painting. “... the main attraction of the Vatican, in addition to the Sistine Chapel, is undoubtedly the stanza (stanza - room) - three not very large vaulted rooms on the second floor of the old part of the palace built back in the middle of the 15th century.” (Warsaw). First, the middle of the three "stanzas" was painted - "Stanza della Senyatura" (segnatura - in Italian "signature", papal documents were signed here) (1508-1511) and then, for six years (1511-1517) successively "Stanza d'Eliodoro" and "Stanza del Incendio". “However, the frescoes in the third stanza were mostly completed - not very successfully - by his (Raphael's) students: the master was busy with other orders. On the other hand, the murals in the first two stanzas became not only the pride and glory of Raphael, but also the pride and glory of all Renaissance art, of all world art.” (A. Warsaw). In general, the painting of the "Stanza del Incendio" began, according to some sources, in 1514 and continued until 1517. The master spent a lot of time on construction and creating carpets to decorate the Sistine Chapel. The monumental style of Raphael developed and changed, and, having reached its climax, began to fade. “The history of the creation of the Vatican frescoes by the master is, as it were, a compressed, concentrated history of all classical art of the High Renaissance” (“On the Art of Raphael”, p. 33). Researchers believe that each cycle was based on a literary program that was offered to Raphael by scientific advisers. Of course, he himself could choose. It is believed that there was no strict regulation of work. The genuine interest of scientists is caused by the fact that “as an abstract and didactic idea about the consonant unity of religion, science, art and law… Raphael translated it into the language of painting…”. (ibid.). The structure of the frescoes, according to Grashchenkov, is predetermined by the nature of the room, and “the semicircular completions of the walls of each “stanza” served as the initial rhythmic leitmotif in the construction.” In turn, it was noted that "the architectural and rhythmic unity of all parts of the painting is complemented by the consistency of their color system." There is a lot of gold in the painting combined with blue and white colors. The backgrounds are painted in the form of a golden mosaic or a golden ornament is given over a blue field. This gold is combined with an abundance of yellow tones in the frescoes of the walls ("Dispute"). The light gray architecture of the "School of Athens" is also slightly golden. All these color combinations give rise to "the colorful unity of the entire ensemble and the mood of a happy and free harmony of being, which directly prepares a deeper perception of individual frescoes." Despite the division, the parts form a complete artistic independence. Just like easel painting. Scientists emphasize that there is nothing forced and frozen in Raphael's composition. “Each figure ... retains its inherent truthful naturalness. Her connection with other figures is due not to the impersonal spiritualism of the general ascetic idea, as in medieval art, but to the free consciousness of the higher truth of those ideals, faith in which brought them together ”(“ Dispute ”). In the "School of Athens" Raphael, through painting, reconciles and unites Plato and Aristotle. I.A. Smirnova in the article “Stanza della Senyatura” notes that the frescoes of “Disputation” and “The School of Athens” “most fully, fully embody the image of the harmoniously beautiful universe of Raphael. Their spatial solution creates a feeling of “openness” of this world for us, expands the space of the hall, giving it the majestic balance of centric rooms, filling it with light and air.” The article touches upon the programmatic issues of the Stanza della Senyatura, and after analyzing the data, Smirnova concludes: “... the hypothesis that the Stanza della Senyatura was intended by Julius II for the supreme papal tribunal has not yet been refuted.” And further: “...neither this appointment, nor the theme of justice and its divine origin, exhaust the program of Raphael's murals in all its complexity and richness of meanings. Moreover, they do not exhaust the majestic, diverse and beautiful world of ideas and images, inspired by the humanistic concept of perfection, harmony and reason, which appears before us on the walls of Raphael's Stanza della Senyatura. In the symbols depicted on the frescoes, the meaning and essence of the eras that humanity lives throughout the entire historical space. They - frescoes - bearers of symbols of ideas and ideas of mankind. According to Varshavsky: “One of ... the greatest creations in the history of mankind are the murals in the Stanza della Senyatura, with their famous Dispute, the School of Athens, Parnassus and with a fresco dedicated to justice, as well as many other separate compositions and allegorical figures... The depth of generalizations, the intensity of the colorful brush, the sharpness of contrasts, the dynamics of dramatic images, a rare compositional gift - all testified to the enormous and ever-growing skill of the artist, ... both in design and in execution. (Article "Sistine Madonna", A. Varshavsky).

In the Stanza della Segnatura, Raphael's style is characterized as "graceful and grandiose", but already in the Stanza d'Eliodoro, he is replaced by a monumental and more dramatic one. "The figures have lost grace and lightness."

It is worth noting that the world "depicted in the frescoes of the Stanza della Senyatura" was timeless in nature. The frescoes of the "Stanza d'Eliodoro" "depict specific scenes of church history." The former calm also disappears in the architectural structure of the frescoes - the space is rapidly unfolding. There is no air blueness of the sky. "Architectural decorations are crowded in dense rows of columns and pillars, hanging overhead with heavy arches." Now "the real and the ideal form here a more complex and expressive fusion." One of the plastic motifs that Raphael applied to various tasks can be considered a circular composition. Of course, there are many such favorite methods. But, changing and moving from work to work, they are quite easily recognizable. They were subsequently used by other masters. R.I. Khlodovsky writes: “Contemplating the frescoes of Raphael, we can not only see what the highest ideal of the culture of the Italian Renaissance was, but also more or less clearly understand how this ideal was historically formed. ... Self-reflection of the art of the Italian Renaissance was combined in Raphael with Renaissance historicism. The plots of the "Stanza della Senyatura" depict ideals that historically precede the ideal of Raphael's frescoes and are present in this ideal. Summing up some of the presentation of the material on the painting of frescoes, it must be said that for Raphael they were not at all decorations for the pleasure of the eyes - the artist appreciated the strict proportionality of all parts of the whole, "each figure must have its own purpose."

Since the “stanz” frescoes are monumental painting, which is closely connected with architecture, it would not be out of place to mention the architectural creations of Raphael. In the article by I.A. Bartenev "Raphael and Architecture" we find a lot of valuable information. For example, scholars write that Raphael “with his architectural creations had a great influence on similar works his students and on the whole subsequent development of Italian architecture. The master worked on the design and construction of structures directly, he also painted some kind of projects directly on the canvases of paintings and, moreover, performed fresco paintings of an ornamental and decorative order. In general, "the combination in one person of several artistic professions" for Italy of the XV-XVI centuries. - this is the norm. Continuity in the transfer of the profession and the skill itself from generation to generation was very common. Also, the era was distinguished by consistent training in different professions. “In Italy of the time under consideration, in fact, there were no two “adjacent” professions - a muralist and a painter of paintings, just as there were no separate sculptors-muralists and masters of small plastics. Artists also worked on painting structures (if we take painting), and they also created easel works. ... The easel paintings of the Renaissance masters had features of monumentality, and at the same time, wall paintings had all the signs of realism ... Painting was unified, and this facilitated its improvement and at the same time facilitated the contact of artists with architecture, their solution of tasks in decoration, in painting buildings "(I.A. Bartenev "Raphael and Architecture"). As already mentioned, since 1508 Raphael has been carrying out works on the decoration of the Vatican and the knowledge / skills gained in Urbino and especially in Florence were developed and consolidated by the influence on the young artist of Roman antiquity. “It is known that the architects of the Italian Renaissance from an early time cultivated type of centric domed church , which they contrasted with the traditional Gothic basilica. This was their ideal, and they made persistent efforts to establish this ideal. This process can be traced back in the works of Brunellesco and reaches its climax in the works of Bramante, in the famous Tempietto, in fact, his first Roman building (1502), and, finally, in the grandiose project of the Cathedral of St. Peter." (ibid.). As early as 1481, in his fresco "Transfer of the Keys" of the Sistine Chapel, Perugino depicts a rotunda temple in the center. And after twenty years, Raphael returns to the same topic. But “the architecture of the rotundal temple of Raphael is more collected than the similar composition of Perugino ..., it is more united, and the proportions and silhouette are distinguished by amazing perfection and grace. Elegance, some kind of special sophistication and sophistication of forms, while fully maintaining a sense of monumentality, are the characteristic qualities of Raphael as an architect. (ibid.). It must be said that the frescoes perfectly depict architecture "with the involvement of a number of motives." The architectural background of the "School of Athens" very accurately reproduces the interior of the Cathedral of St. Peter. Bartenev wrote: “... it can be assumed that the entire staffing of the “Athenian School” was corrected by Bramante. ... The majestic architecture depicted here, the mighty foundations - the pylons of the temple, decorated with a warrant - Tuscan pilasters, the coffered vaults widely "open" above them, sailing systems, niches with statues, reliefs - all this is drawn in the highest degree professionally, in excellent proportions and testifies to free use of architectural means. The character of architecture ... embodies those features that characterized the architecture of the High Renaissance ... ”(“ Raphael and Architecture ”). After the death of Bramante (1514), Raphael supervises the construction of the Cathedral of St. Peter. Fra Giocondo da Verona was attracted to help him, who was more experienced in construction and could solve some technical issues. In the summer of 1515, Rafael was appointed chief architect of the cathedral, and he would fulfill these duties for another 5 years, until his death in 1520. Bramante developed a project for a central-domed temple, symmetrical along two axes. The higher clergy wanted something else, so amendments were made "in the direction of the all-round development of the entrance, western part." According to the researchers, Raphael had to solve the difficult task of reworking the plan of the cathedral. Perhaps he did not need such innovations, but the clergy, after the death of the "main author", forced the master to start processing. Raphael did not have time to add to the main core of Bramante's composition "the multi-nave western, entrance part." He dies soon. Bartenev writes: "In the event of implementation, the main facade would be strongly pushed forward, while the domed part, accordingly, would visually recede into the background." The artist in Rome was engaged in "the study of ancient monuments." After the death of Fra Giocondo in 1515, Raphael was appointed the chief "custodian of Roman antiquities." He took part in the excavations of the Golden House of Nero and the Baths of Trajan. Decorative ornaments-murals were found there. These murals adorned underground rooms - grottoes (that's why these ornaments were called grotesque ). Taking advantage of the finds, Raphael boldly uses grotesques in the loggia of San Domaso. As Bartenev writes: "... we are talking not about copying certain themes, but about a free, creative approach, about the free layout of individually drawn motifs of a geometric, antiquity architectural order, pictorial, plant, with the inclusion of images of animals, etc. ... themes. Also, Raphael uses grotesques in the loggia of the Villa Madama and a number of other monuments of the 16th century. Researchers of Raphael's work believe that he can be called "the founder of the ornamental and decorative art of the High Renaissance." The murals in the courtyard of San Domaso were called the Raphael Loggia.

The buildings of Raphael include: the church of Sant Eligio degli Orefici (for the workshop of jewelers in Rome) - in the form of a Greek equal-pointed cross; the mortuary chapel for the Agostino Chigi family is square in plan, with a small flat dome; Palazzo Vidoni - two-tiered in structure, with a massive rusticated first floor and a light portico of the second tier with paired three-quarter columns of the Tuscan order; Palazzo de Brescia in Rome - with a warrant in the form of pilasters; Palazzo Pandolfini (according to the drawings of Raphael) is a two-story building, which, adjacent to the garden, does not have the usual closed courtyard. As Bartenev writes: “The composition developed by Bramante and Raphael marked the appearance new system facade solution of Italian palazzos…. The warrant ... was established as main theme facade solution. ... This building (Palazzo Pandolfini) ... was a model of a city mansion-palace ... ". Such facades as in the Pandolfini Palace, the Farnese Palace (its author Antonio Sangalo the Younger) will be developed in the 16th-17th centuries. and later, and not only in Italy.

It should be noted that “... in the loggia of the Villa Madama, the sculptural and pictorial ornamental means introduced by the artist, those grotesque motifs ... reached ... full expression and formed into ... a pronounced plastic system. …. The extraordinary compositional inventiveness, diversity, elegance and sophistication of the drawing remain hitherto unsurpassed, ... classic examples. (Bartenev).

“The architecture of the Italian Renaissance ... is distinguished by the complexity and ... inconsistency of development. Raphael was at the highest point of this process, but the main line of movement in architecture did not pass through his work. At the same time, the latter is one of the most striking phenomena in the architecture of Italy of the Cinquecento era. And the originality of his artistic individuality in architecture is that he was basically an artist and, above all, an artist. . (I.A. Bartenev).

It should be said about how modest biographical data about Raphael is. V.D. Dazhina in the article "The Roman Encirclement of Raphael" writes:

“A little is known about Raphael’s personal life, about his relationships with friends, assistants, colleagues and customers, much more legends associated with him.”

Vasari, the author of a considerable number of biographies of artists, voluntarily or accidentally gave food for the legends about Raphael. Scientists believe that, despite the richest information fund, in the works of Vasari there is a lot of some programming and pathos. Nevertheless, Vasari's lengthy passages on Raphael must be looked at especially carefully, because what little we have about him is precious.

“In Vasari’s biography, Raphael appears as an active organizer, an artist in relentless search, a person who learns new things with inexhaustible curiosity, drawing creative inspiration from the great heritage of antiquity.” ("The Roman Encirclement of Raphael").

V.N. Grashchenkov writes in the article “On the Art of Raphael” he speaks of Raphael’s nature as “soft and feminine”, “endowed with sensitive receptivity and easily external influences". There is no doubt, at one glance at the murals of the Vatican "stanzas", that it was susceptibility that helped the artist to reach that height in the visual arts, which is so difficult to achieve.

Raphael's compositional solutions are incredible, perfect. Experts attribute this special exclusivity to their architectonic nature, which is so close to monumental painting. All this is especially true of the Roman period. Even in Florence, where Raphael mastered the skill of composition and the ability to convey plastic expression, he prepared himself for what he could not know - what awaited in Rome, where he began working from the end of 1508. From a provincial artist - the author of small elegant paintings and charming "Madonna" - he immediately turned into a master, sometimes overshadowing those with whom he had recently studied.

As for external influences on Raphael, his tendency to imitate can only be attributed to the period of youth, because later the position of a mature master, formulated by Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola, becomes clear: “You need to imitate all good writers, and not just any alone, and in those things where they have reached the highest perfection, and in such a way that their own inner talent is not perverted, but, on the contrary, the thread of the story is directed according to the inclination of the spirit and the way the speaker speaks. Applied to the fine arts, this is quite consistent with the work of Raphael: he did not copy one or many, but on the basis of acquaintance with their works he developed his own style. In Pico's opinion, as in Raphael's, the authors are diverse and each one excellent in its own way. “With this understanding of imitation, where the inclination of the human spirit is taken into account and the variety of forms of expression is recognized as natural and inevitable, the idea inherent in the mind of the master becomes an individualizing principle. artistic style”(O.F. Kudryavtsev“ Aesthetic searches for the humanists of the circle of Raphael ”).

As writes L.M. Bragin in his work "Aesthetic ideas in Italian humanism of the second half XV - start XVI in." , the humanistic ideal was embodied by Raphael on the basis of the classical style of the High Renaissance - the synthesizing stage of the Italian Renaissance art. This stage was prepared not only by the spontaneity of the development of art itself, but also by the maturity of humanism, the maturity of ethical and aesthetic concepts. Here it is necessary to mention the processes that contributed to the rise of the culture of this time. Bragina writes: “... the aesthetic theory of the Renaissance generalized ancient aesthetics and often, through its prism, mastered the experience of new art, based on the legacy of ancient masters. On the other hand, the art of the Renaissance not only perceived principles through the high examples of ancient art, which it processed in accordance with its tasks, but also absorbed the theoretical thought of humanism with its new attitudes of consciousness and orientation towards a new way of perceiving the ancient heritage. Based on this provision, "one can speak of a kind of typological relationship between the ideas of man, goodness, beauty, embodied in the work of Raphael, and the corresponding ideas of the aesthetic thought of the High Renaissance."

So, we are talking about those ideas (concepts) that can be identified when considering the period of development of Renaissance aesthetics from the second half of the 15th to the beginning of the 16th century. In 50 - 80 years. the fifteenth century, “the greatest contribution to the aesthetic thought of humanism was made by Leon Batista Alberti, Marsilio Ficino, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola. 90s can be regarded as the next stage in the development of Renaissance aesthetics, marked not so much by the emergence of new concepts as by the tendency to synthesize the main results and conclusions to which different lines of evolution of aesthetic thought of the previous period led. ... Each of the great artists expressed a special understanding of the ethical and aesthetic problems of the time, colored by the originality of his personality, and enriched the ideals of the Renaissance culture with creative discoveries. The interconnection of the processes that took place in humanistic aesthetics and the art of the High Renaissance, the inner closeness of the searches make it possible to perceive the theoretical achievements of the artistic thought of the Renaissance not as a kind of background for comprehending Raphael's work, but as that spiritual environment for the formation and development of his art, with which it was organically connected" ( L.M. Bragina, ibid.).

The most important and interesting position for me is the views of Mario Equicola (1470-1525), who served at the courts of the rulers of Ferrara and Mantua. His treatise "On the Nature of Love", according to scientists, became an example of a humanistic topic on "philosophy of love", an ethical and aesthetic encyclopedia, where this topic, although it rested on a Neoplatonic foundation, acquired a secular orientation (L.M. Bragina, there same). According to Bragina, at the beginning of the sixteenth century characteristic features aesthetic thought of humanism was "the growing overcoming of the metaphysical approach to the interpretation of love and beauty", such a conclusion can be drawn based on the works of Cattani, Equicola. The latter, according to scientists, popularized Neoplatonic aesthetics and the development of certain clichés that influenced the formation of the tastes and mindsets of the artistic intelligentsia. At the same time, one cannot fail to notice that the popularization of the Neoplatonic concept of love led to a simplified understanding of the system of Neoplatonism. As Bragina writes, the philosophical position of the humanists is marked by eclecticism, and only the final conclusions of the author are equalized with the Neoplatonic concept. In fact, the very reasoning of the author often contradicts it, they turn out to be much more “humanized” than “divine”. (ibid.).

Humanistic ideas influenced artists, as well as customers, shaping their ideology. At this time, the work of Raphael took shape and flourished. (ibid.). O.F. Kudryavtsev refers to M. Dvorak, who says that Raphael refuses "the given plot schemes and naturalistic tendencies characteristic of the work of the Quattrocento masters, who began to train as a painter." "Raphael, in the School of Athens and in his subsequent works, distributes figures and masses in a much more free way." (M. Dvorak "History of Italian Art in the Renaissance"). In Raphael, as Kudryavtsev writes, aesthetic perfection is the main goal of art. Hence the “architectonic balance”, and very “free compositional solutions”, and even the “ideal typing of characters”. Grace and beauty in the artist's works are the result of synthesis, to which Raphael attached paramount importance.

Based on the ideology of humanism, one can imagine that those close to Raphael - Baldassare Castiglione, Pico, Bembo and other theorists of the art of the High Renaissance "inherited an interest in the problems of beauty, in search of it, seeing the subject of their activity." ( O.F. Kudryavtsev "Aesthetic searches of the humanists of the circle of Raphael") . Kudryavtsev notes that the concepts of "grace", "gracefulness" are especially common when applied to the work of Raphael. And let them be interpreted, at times, contradictoryly - Castiglione and Raphael's works are inexplicably close in understanding / presenting "grace". The article quotes from an article by E. Williamson:

“... the work of both of them is based on the concept of grace, which they equally shared and which in the same form and to the same degree is not inherent in any other writer or artist” (E. Williamson “The Concept of Grace in the Works of Raphael and Castiglione” ). The medieval understanding of grace continues to live in the culture of the Renaissance, being rethought. As Kudryavtsev writes: “grace is grace, or attractiveness, which has a fertile nature. …. Grace is, first of all, pleasantness and attractiveness, and it can be bestowed by any nature capable of creativity. And a person also possesses such, this ... "earthly god", "universal master", unlimited in his potencies up to the point that he can create his own nature. This means that only an individual is able to make a reasonable choice of path when solving issues, the author of the article points out that “the artistic thought of the Renaissance, having come to realize the importance of the subjective factor (based on the Renaissance concept of man as an active and independent being in his actions), does not nonetheless opposed it to objective reality, but, on the contrary, found the inextricable subtle interconnection of these principles. (ibid.). Also, Castiglione has the idea that deliberateness and effort can turn the viewer away from a work of art by right, because art itself cannot be depicted in art. Let's say, "stick out" techniques. Anyway, that's how I understand it. And since the subjective perception and transmission of the image in the era of the High Renaissance are treated as absolute, grace becomes the inner beauty of the image, a secret and unknown constant, devoid of the usual measure. Castiglione writes: “Often in painting, there is only one unforced line, one stroke of the brush, laid lightly, so that it seems as if the hand, regardless of training or some kind of art, goes towards its goal in accordance with the intention of the artist, clearly shows the perfection of the master ... " . According to Kudryavtsev, "in relation to Raphael ... one can speak of a mutually enriching union of art and humanistic thought." Indeed, if we take into account such a quality as susceptibility to external influences, we will see that Raphael (following the logic of events) with his work was able to determine the aesthetic aspirations in his contemporary society. Moreover, he could influence artistic language and fine arts writing style. Where is the logic from? Here I hold an opinion which I consider to be entirely mine, or that of the one whom I especially thank for it. I believe that observation and, at times, imitation, is the main way of accumulating information / knowledge about a subject. Without painstaking study of other people's achievements, discoveries that have already been made, a person is able to reinvent the wheel and consider himself a pioneer. Of course, it is simply impossible to be in time everywhere, but to be in time in many ways is a solvable task. For me, the issue of imitation is not a problem, as long as it comes to finding your own style.

It seems to me that of considerable interest “is a document widely known in the literature on the history of art and aesthetics as a letter from Raphael to Count Baldassare Castiglione. It is authentic that it was written on behalf of Raphael, addressed to Castiglione as a response to an unpreserved letter, which was devoted to a discussion of the artistic merits of the fresco "The Triumph of Galatea", created by Raphael in 1513. It dates from 1514, since in April of this year Raphael was appointed chief architect of St. Peter, as mentioned in the letter. Of course, I can’t talk about what seems to me the most realistic in the versions themselves put forward by scientists - whether the artist himself wrote it, whether Castiglione addressed this document to himself on behalf of Raphael, Pico compiled this document ... One way or another, the similarity of the views of these people on a number of issues is obvious after the analysis of scientists (in this case, I'm talking about the work of O.F. Kudryavtsev). For me, the text of the message itself is very important, which I will quote in full:

“And I will tell you that in order to write a beauty, I need to see many beauties; provided that Your Excellency will be with me to make the best choice. But in view of the lack of both good judges and beautiful women, I use some idea that comes to my mind. Whether it has any perfection of art in itself, I do not know, but I try very hard to achieve it.

To this is added:

“I would like to find the beautiful forms of ancient buildings, but I don’t know if this will be the flight of Icarus. Although Vitruvius sheds a lot of light on this for me, but not so much, however, that it is enough.

Why does the letter seem so important and interesting to me? Because it contains those views that I find consonant with my own. And although the authorship of the document is not indisputable, it reflects the creative method of Raphael, which is known to everyone not so much (and not only) theoretically. Of course, the artist's aesthetic searches are also reflected in the letter. It reflects the positions inherent in humanism - imitation, as a rivalry with the ancients and perception, as the development of ancient traditions.

Now I would like to mention the connection between Raphael and sculpture, despite the fact that researchers note the paucity of works on Raphael the sculptor. After reading the article by M.Ya. Libman "Raphael and Sculpture", I drew my conclusions. My knowledge does not allow me to speak in any way about the ensemble of the Chigi chapel in the Roman church of Santa Maria del Popolo, where the artist "acts as a co-author and inspirer of the sculptor" Lorenzetto. But you can't ignore works that, in Sheerman's words, "have never gotten the attention they deserve." Shirman notes the picturesque nature of the statues. The statues of Jonah and Elijah, made by Lorenzetto, "were clearly designed to be placed in certain niches in relation to the altar and the entrance." It follows from the materials of the article that Rafael was looking for a marble maker to work in the Chigi chapel. “Lorenzetto was a mediocre sculptor. It would be possible not to remember him if he did not embody the sculptural ideas of Raphael in the material. He, one might say, was lucky enough to convey Raphael's views on plastic. Thanks to these works, we can see a clear picture of Raphael's work. Liebman notes that Raphael was very interested in sculpture, because in a number of his works there are images of statues and reliefs that do not exist in reality. The article addresses the question of who was the ideological inspirer for the creation of the statues - Raphael himself or Lorenzetto (it is known that the statue of Elijah was completed after the death of the artist). The issues of the influence of Raphael's work on the sculptors of that time (Andrea and Jacopo Sansovino) are touched upon. For me, the main thing is that the statues exist and, thanks to this, one can imagine Raphael as a sculptor. It seems quite natural that Michelangelo, the plastic genius, who could not help but overshadow even Raphael, was present in creative circles. This explains, if not everything, then a lot. In general, it is strange to talk about who is more significant in painting, sculpture ... I consider the correct conclusion to be the one that is given in Liebman's article: “If there were other sculptors in Raphael's workshop, besides Lorenzetto, perhaps then a school of sculptors would be formed- Raphaelescos". Despite the versatility of his talent, Rafael (I think that it’s not only possible to talk about him this way) simply did not have time to use every facet of his talent equally. Especially when you consider the sad fact that the artist lived so little (Raphael died 37 years old, in April 1520, from a fever that does not indicate in any way true reason illness and death), he managed a lot.

Among the achievements of Raphael, one can safely attribute the influence of his work on the development of many types of applied art. “This was especially clearly and directly manifested in tapestry weaving, and although a number of Italian artists had already taken part in the creation of cardboards for wall carpets before Raphael, it was Raphael’s cardboards that were destined to determine the further development of this most important branch of applied art” (N.Yu. Biryukova “Raphael and the development of tapestry weaving in Western Europe).

This art form was flourishing in France, Flanders. As Biryukova notes, “the composition of tapestries ... was still within the framework of the traditions of medieval art. ... There was almost no perspective construction, flatly interpreted figures filled the entire space of the wall carpet, the coloring was very laconic, since the colorful range usually did not exceed two dozen tones. The departure from these compositional principles was due to the appearance of a series of tapestries for tapestries on the subject of the "Acts of the Apostles", ordered to Raphael by Pope Leo X in 1513 and completed at the end of 1516. Tapestries made according to these cardboards were intended to decorate the lower part of the walls of the Sistine Chapel ". This series included ten tapestries. Raphael presented volumetric figures, not located on the entire plane of the carpet, but placed against the backdrop of landscapes with space. The style of the tapestries is monumental, the clothes of the characters are tunics (sometimes the characters are half-naked). “On Flemish tapestries of the 15th century. the most exalted stories were overgrown with many everyday details. ... the figures ... were portrayed in magnificent costumes of their time, equipped with many details ”(Biryukova). The cardboards created by Raphael "directed ... along a different ... path to the development of the compositional and stylistic features of a woven wall carpet" (Biryukova). Of course, Raphael had his influence not only on the compositional characteristics of the carpets, but also on the framing - borders. The master introduced grotesque motifs into the vertical carpet borders, which alternated with allegorical figures. “Very soon, the border of stylized flowers, characteristic of the tapestries of the first two decades of the 16th century, was replaced by a border composed of grotesque motifs and allegorical figures” (Biryukova). It follows from the article that Raphael's cardboards brought tapestry weaving closer to painting. Thus, applied art is no longer just a craft, but a high art. Agree, when Raphael, Rubens, Keck Van Aelst, Vermeen paint cardboard for carpets, it is difficult to underestimate such works. This is also evidenced by the works of ceramists - artists who switched from ornamental painting from individual figures of people and animals to multi-figured narrative paintings. In the painting of Italian majolica, the Renaissance style clearly took shape. In the article by O.E. Mikhailova “The use of compositions of the works of Raphael and his school in the painting of Italian majolica” states that after 1525 “the artistic fantasy of ceramists was captured by Raphael and his school.” The names of the masters are mentioned, such as Marcantonio Raimondi, Agostino Veneziano, Marco da Ravenna ... Mikhailova, in the article, notes that the reproduction of engraved sheets in majolica painting was not always possible exactly. Many ceramists worked on the composition of Raphael, and here only one thing can be added: “Not a single Renaissance artist, and even of a later time, could not pass by the works of this genius. And masters - ceramists, using Italian printed graphics, which reproduced the drawings, paintings and frescoes of Raphael, not only raised Italian majolica to an unprecedented high artistic level, but also clearly reflected the Renaissance and the spirit of its time in this type of applied art.

Conclusion

You can't tell everything about Rafael. It seems strange to me that the authors of works about the life and work of the artist are so, in my opinion, unanimous in their assessments of his life path: “Raphael was a happy artist”, “The bright genius of Raphael was not prone to psychological depth”, “In Rome, Raphael found strong and powerful patrons. In a word, reading these excerpts from articles, I get a strange feeling that scientists themselves often contradict themselves. Will explain. In the article by V.D. Dazhina “Rafael and his entourage” I read: “Outwardly sociable and open, Rafael was rarely frank and spiritually close with anyone. He had a wide circle of acquaintances, but few true friends." Doesn't this mean that making any conclusions about the artist and his life is a manifestation of imprudence? Can there be MANY real friends? Communicating with the learned humanists of the Renaissance, was Raphael himself so easily predictable to outsiders? As A. Varshavsky writes: “... Rafael, undoubtedly, was a widely educated person, a person who thought deeply and powerfully. And if one had to name the most important, defining, most important feature of a great painter, one should probably say this: an amazing ability to generalize, an amazing ability and ability to display these generalizations in the language of art. This statement can also be attributed to Raphael the creator, and, which is also true, to the account of Raphael the personality. “Despite the outward fragility, he was a very courageous man, Raphael. It should not be forgotten that in the year of his transfer to Rome, he was barely twenty-five years old. Once having made a decision, he will not deviate from the chosen path, and one simply has to wonder how quickly his genius grows stronger ”(Varshavsky). During his stay in Rome, he did so much! “... partially painted the Vatican stanzas, supervised painting works in the Villa Farnesina and the Loggias of the Vatican, created cardboards for carpets ordered by Leo X, carried out numerous orders from private individuals and religious communities ...” (Dazhina). He was engaged in the protection and census of ancient Roman monuments. Thanks to his hard work and talent, Raphael provoked an association under the general direction of a group of talented artists. On purpose, of course, he did not do this - did the busy master have time for self-aggrandizement? And his workshop has increased exorbitantly, because it is so natural to touch knowledge and talent! Such associations, according to the researchers, did not arise anymore. Communication with Rafael formed other talents, revealed them. The death of the artist did not have the best effect on the work of some of his students. Of course, I am only talking about a few, because Francesco Penny (Fattore) retained in his art the poetry and grace characteristic of Raphael. Giovanni da Udine adopted and developed not only the thought of Raphael, but also carried through life creation the gift of writing ornaments and elegant grotesques. According to scientists, he carried his love for Raphael through his whole life and was even buried next to him, in the Pantheon. There are many such examples. “Humanistic education, versatility of creative interests, passion ancient architecture and archeology brought together Raphael and Peruzzi. Their participation in the design of holidays and theatrical productions was also common ”(Dazhina).

Perhaps I didn’t manage to understand something important about Raphael, but reading something like this: “Vasari also contributed to this opposition (Raphael - Michelangelo) by seeing Michelangelo’s failures with the tomb of Julius II and his removal from Rome during the time of Leo X. the intrigues of the circle of Bramante and Raphael, ”the question does not leave me - is this known for certain? In general, the opposition of two colossal creators of that time - is it possible? I am also saddened by such a classification as “Titian - received the title of count; Raphael is a papal confidant. And in addition to this classification: “With the style of life, social behavior and the nature of creativity, Raphael embodied the features of a new social type of artist - organizer, leader of large paintings, a courtier leading a lifestyle, possessing secular gloss, the ability to maneuver and adapt to the tastes of the customer. True, in the time of Raphael, all these qualities were only taking shape ... ”(Dazhina). And this can be considered a kind of assessment? How, then, to treat the phrase: “The new pope treated Raphael’s talent in a consumerist way, overwhelmingly loading the artist with all kinds of work ... Such a chaotic waste of energy led to gradual devastation, creative passivity, gave rise to a certain detachment of the artist from his creations, that chill that testified to the crisis Raphael style in the late 1510s. Only in the portrait did the artist still feel free and create regardless of anyone’s whim” (Dazhina). It seems to me correct that such dependence was inevitable for Raphael, because the circumstances / conditions of him, namely his life, forced him to live at court and work not only independently, but also on orders. Researchers write that the artist did not like the papal court because of intrigue, hypocrisy, and envy. He was a good friend of the papal jester, wit Fra Mariano, and the enlightened Cardinal Sanseverino. Agree, at the court the concentration of educated and enlightened people, at that time, could be higher and therefore Raphael was forced to “adjust” under some for the sake of communicating with others. Without knowledge and knowledgeable people, not only artists (and not so much), it is very difficult to come to what is so valuable in Raphael - the ability to objectively generalize. No one can guarantee that, far from the papal court, the genius of Raphael would have reached the heights to which his creations take us.

Probably, in conclusion, I should write about the impressions that the artist's work made on me. But I wanted to call for the reasonable use of any information about a particular person, event. It must be remembered that many people, having heard, anywhere, incorrect information about someone / something, may never know the truth and talk about the subject sometimes unfairly and cruelly.

“The work of Rafael Santi is one of those phenomena of European culture that are not only covered with world fame, but have also gained special significance - the highest landmarks in the spiritual life of mankind. For five centuries, his art has been perceived as one of the examples of aesthetic perfection ”(Editorial Board of the collection“ Raphael and His Time ”).

List of used literature

1. Raphael and his time. Rep. editor L.S. Chicolini. Moscow: Nauka, 1986.

2. The fate of masterpieces. A. Warsaw. M.: 1984.

Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

Bryansk State Technical University

Abstract on the topic

The work of Raphael.

Fulfilled

studentIcourse

gr. 04-PIE-1

Sinitsa Alexander

Teacher

Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Department

"Philosophy and History"

Dzyuban Valery Valerievich

Bryansk 2005

1. Renaissance in European culture. - 3 -

2. Great master of the Renaissance. - 5 -

3. The creative path of Raphael. - eleven -

4. The place of Raphael in the Renaissance. - eighteen -

Conclusion - 21 -

References - 22 -

1. Renaissance in European culture.

The Renaissance is the time of the highest artistic upsurge, when many wonderful painters, sculptors, and architects worked in Italy.

The work of Raphael Santi is one of those phenomena of European culture that are not only covered with world fame, but have also gained special significance - the highest landmarks in the spiritual life of mankind. For five centuries, his art has been perceived as one of the examples of aesthetic perfection.

The genius of Raphael was revealed in painting, graphics, architecture. The works of Raphael are the most complete, vivid expression of the classical line, the classical beginning in the art of the High Renaissance. Raphael created a “universal image” of a beautiful person, perfect physically and spiritually, embodied the idea of ​​the harmonious beauty of being.

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. Rafael's father was the court painter 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 “Three Graces”, “Dream of a Knight”. These simple-hearted, still student-timid things are marked by 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 is outlined.

Among the best works of the early period is the Conestabile Madonna. The theme of the Madonna is especially close to the lyrical talent of Raphael, and it is no coincidence that she 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 shades. Raphael created a new type of image of the Madonna and Child - monumental, strict and lyrical at the same time, gave this topic an unprecedented significance – .

He glorified the earthly existence of man, the harmony of spiritual and physical forces in the paintings of the stanzas (rooms) of the Vatican (1509-1517), achieving an impeccable sense of proportion, rhythm, proportions, harmony of color, unity of figures and the majesty of architectural backgrounds. There are many images of the Mother of God (“Sistine Madonna”, 1515-19), artistic ensembles in the murals of the Villa Farnesina (1514-18) and the loggias of the Vatican (1519, with students). In portraits he creates an ideal image of a Renaissance man (“Baldassare Castiglione”, 1515). He designed the Cathedral of St. Peter, built the Chigi Chapel of the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo (1512-20) in Rome.

Raphael's painting, its style, its aesthetic principles reflected the worldview of the era. By the third decade of the 16th century, the cultural and spiritual situation in Italy had changed. Historical reality destroyed the illusions of Renaissance humanism. The revival was coming to an end.

Raphael's life ended unexpectedly at the age of 37 on April 6, 1520. The great artist was given the highest honors: his ashes were buried in the Pantheon. Raphael was the pride of Italy for his contemporaries and remained it for posterity. – .

2. Great master of the Renaissance.

Among the artistic treasures of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence is a portrait of an unusually handsome young man in a black beret. - [cm. pic 1]. This is clearly a self-portrait, judging by the way the gaze is directed - this is how they look when they paint themselves in the mirror. For a long time there was no doubt that this is a genuine self-portrait of Raphael, now its authorship is disputed by some. But be that as it may, the portrait is excellent: it is in this way, inspired, sensitive and clear, that the image of the most harmonious artist of the High Renaissance, the “divine Sanzio”, is seen.

Fig.1 Rafael.

Rafael - he should have been correctly called Raffaello Santi - was born on April 6, 1483 in Urbino, a small mountain town in the Marche region, which belonged to the Dukes of Mentefeltro. His father Giovani Santi was a court painter and poet. As far as can be judged from his works, he was a mediocre artist, and his poetic talents were even more modest. Being a highly educated man, he managed to inspire his son with a love for art and taught him the first practical lessons in painting. But these studies were short-lived, since Giovanni Santi died when Rafael was eleven years old; he had lost his mother three years earlier. His father's connections at court helped the boy continue his education, and when he began to enjoy fame, the family of the Duke of Urbino supported him.

At first, Rafael studied with local artists - Evangelista da Piandimeleto and Timoteo Viti. But having already become a fairly independent painter, in 1500 he moved to Perugia and entered the workshop of an Umbrian master, who most fully expressed the sweet and lyrical ideal of beauty that illuminated the Umbrian school of painting, P. Perugino

Young Raphael imitates the teacher in his works, but we clearly see the beginnings of some new ideal. His drawing style is distinguished by great sophistication, particular lightness and smoothness of the line, leaving rounded contours and a light veil of shading. At first, making a barely noticeable sketch with a metal pin or charcoal, and only then draws with a pen, thus avoiding corrections. In the light, slender figures of angels, the gently dreamy faces of saints and cute girlish images - everything is imbued with the poetry of some kind of magical game, transparent dreams and sincere sincerity.

Among the first paintings of Raphael, marked by the stamp of timid apprenticeship, there is one in which his Umbrian impressions and the aspirations of his own artistic ideal are more clearly expressed. This is the "Madonna Conestabile", written by him after his departure from Umbrino, but still little connected with the subsequent submission to the style of Perugino. Sad memories of a mother who died early, charming pictures of her native places merged here into a single harmonious image, a pure gentle melody of a naive, but sincere poetic feeling. This small picture, however, has that integrity of the embodiment of the idea, which will become a distinctive feature of all Raphael's work. – .

Florence, where he arrives at the end of 1504, already an independent master, in order to voluntarily continue his apprenticeship in this highest art school throughout Italy, becomes the next stage in his activity, which played a huge role in the creative development of Raphael.

Of paramount importance for him was familiarity with the method of Leonardo da Vinci. Following Leonardo, he began to work a lot from nature, studying anatomy, the mechanics of movements, complex postures and angles, looking for compact, rhythmically balanced compositional formulas. In the last Florentine works of Raphael (The Entombment, 1507, Borghese Gallery, Rome; St. Catherine of Alexandria, c. 1507-08, National Gallery, London), there is an interest in the complex formulas of dramatic agitated movement developed by Michelangelo.

Raphael had the miraculous ability to learn and create at the same time. He did not tire of learning from more experienced artists what was needed to develop his own skill. He independently studies the works of the most prominent Florentine masters of the 15th century. The four years he spent in Florence were years of intense improvement for him. These were fruitful years with a very large number of orders. He became especially famous thanks to his "Madonnas". It becomes more earthly and human, more difficult to convey the nuances of a living feeling.

During the Florentine years, Raphael painted at least fifteen paintings depicting Madonnas - small and large, developing intimate genre and monumental motifs. Never repeating himself, he was looking for more and more artistic solutions. In his preparatory drawings of those years, many sketches have been preserved, almost each of them could become a sketch for a new painting. Raphael's fantasy was inexhaustible.

In the same years, Raphael also tested himself in a new genre for him - portraiture.

With all the decisive changes in the artistic manner of Raphael, the main direction of his work during the Florentine period remained unchanged for a long time. He was a lyricist in provincial Umbria, and he remained the same in Florence, where he was most valued as a master of "madonnas". But the deeper he penetrated the ideals of Florentine art, the more matured in him the need to express himself in courageous and dramatic forms.

In 1504, he received an order for the painting Lamentation of Christ, which he originally intended to paint in the tradition of Perugino and even made several sketches. But he left this idea, and when in 1507 he returned to it, he began to develop it as a dramatic theme - "The Entombment".

The transition from the quiet "Madonnas" to the tense dynamics of "The Position" from simple constructions to a multi-figure composition turned out to be very abrupt, and not everything in Raphael's new painting was impeccable, not all images were equally expressive.

By the end of Raphael's stay in Florence, his art is increasingly marked by a tendency towards monumental-heroic expressiveness of images. Comparison of the paintings "The Betrothal of Mary" (1504) and "The Entombment" (1507) gives an idea of ​​Raphael's rapid evolution towards a mature classical style. – .

The reason and exact time of Raphael's move to Rome do not have direct documentary evidence. In the autumn of 1507 he went to Urbino for a while, in the spring of 1508 he was still in Florence, and in January 1509 his name was first mentioned in documents in connection with his work in the Vatican. It must therefore be assumed that he arrived in Rome no later than the end of 1508. It can also be assumed that he arrived in Rome, as a few years before - in Florence, with recommendations from Urbino. This is all the more likely given that the new Duke of Urbino, Francesco Maria della Rovere, was the nephew of Pope Julius II. Finally, Raphael's invitation could be facilitated by his fellow countryman, the all-powerful papal architect Bramante, who worked on the restructuring and decoration of the Vatican.

Here, 26-year-old Raphael is commissioned to paint the ceremonial chambers of the Vatican Palace. Apparently, at first, Raphael's participation in the painting of the so-called "stanzas" of the Vatican Palace was rather modest, because other, more famous masters (Bramante, Michelangelo) were already working here. But Julius II liked what he did so much that, with his usual rude determination, he ordered the frescoes, already painted by other painters or existing there even earlier, to be knocked down, and the entire decoration of the rooms to be entrusted to Raphael alone. The work, begun by him at the end of 1508, lasted nine years: first, the middle of the three "stanzas" was painted - "Stanza della Segnatura" (1508-1511), then "Stanza d'Eliodoro" (1511-1514) and finally - "Stanza del Incendio" (1515-1517). By the time they started painting the third "stanza", Rafael was so busy with other orders that he could only watch the work of his students, who performed all the frescoes. Inexpressive, these compositions were decisively inferior to the frescoes of the first two "stanzas" painted by Raphael himself or with his direct participation.

Raphael acts as a humanist artist, as an exponent of the secular and realistic worldview of the Renaissance.

The last years of his life, Raphael became the recognized head of the entire Roman art school. Even with the help of numerous students, he did not have time to cope with the orders of the pope and the Roman nobility. Fascinated by new plans, extensive architectural and decorative work, Raphael may not have noticed the impending creative crisis. He was rich and led a wide lifestyle, indulging in all sorts of pleasures. Beloved and glorified by all, he must have been happy. But his strength was gone. The exorbitant intensity of work and secular entertainment undermined his health. The fever that struck him turned out to be fatal: on April 6, 1520, Raphael died, mourned by all of Rome. He was buried in the Pantheon. On the same day, one of his contemporaries, reporting on the death of Raphael, wrote: "His first life has ended; his second life, in his posthumous glory, will continue forever in his works and in what scientists will say in his praise."

Such was this great master of the High Renaissance – .

3. The creative path of Raphael.

The ideas of the monumental art of the Renaissance, in which the traditions of antiquity and the spirit of Christianity merged, found their most vivid expression in the work of Raphael (1483-1520). In his art, two main tasks have found a mature solution: the plastic perfection of the human body, expressing internal harmony comprehensively developed personality, in which Raphael followed antiquity, and a complex multi-figured composition that conveys all the diversity of the world. These problems were solved by Leonardo in The Last Supper with his characteristic logic. Raphael enriched these possibilities, achieving amazing freedom in depicting space and the movement of a human figure in it, impeccable harmony between the environment and man. Diverse life phenomena under the brush of Raphael simply and naturally formed into an architectonically clear composition, but behind all this there was a strict alignment of every detail, an inexorable logic of construction, a wise self-restraint, which makes his works classic. None of the masters of the Renaissance perceived the pagan essence of antiquity so deeply and naturally as Raphael; No wonder he is considered the artist who most fully connected ancient traditions with Western European art of the new era.

Raphael Santi was born in 1483 in the city of Urbino, one of the centers of artistic culture in Italy, at the court of the Duke of Urbino, in the family of a court painter and poet, who was the first teacher of the future master. Early period Raphael's work is perfectly characterized by a small picture in the form of a tondo "Madonna Conestabile", with its simplicity and conciseness of strictly selected details (for all the timidity of the composition) and the special, inherent in all Raphael's works, subtle lyricism and a sense of peace. In 1500, Raphael left Urbino for Perugia to study in the studio of the famous Umbrian artist Perugino, under whose influence The Betrothal of Mary (1504) was written. A sense of rhythm, proportionality of plastic masses, spatial intervals, the ratio of figures and the background, the coordination of the main tones (in the "Betrothal" these are golden, red and green in combination with the pale blue background of the sky) and create the harmony that already appears in the early works of Raphael and distinguishes him from the artists of the previous time. In 1504, Raphael moved to Florence, the artistic atmosphere of which was already saturated with the trends of the High Renaissance and contributed to his search for a perfect harmonious image.

Throughout his life, Raphael is looking for this image in the Madonna, his numerous works, interpreting the image of the Madonna, have earned him worldwide fame. The merit of the artist, first of all, is that he managed to embody all the subtlest shades of feelings in the idea of ​​motherhood, to combine lyricism and deep emotionality with monumental grandeur. This can be seen in all his Madonnas, starting with the youthfully timid Conestabile Madonna: in the Madonna in the Green, the Madonna with the Goldfinch, the Madonna in the Chair, and especially at the height of the Raphael spirit and skill - in the Sistine Madonna. Undoubtedly, this was a way to overcome the ingenuous interpretation of serene and bright maternal love for an image saturated with high spirituality and tragedy, built on a perfect harmonic rhythm: plastic, coloristic, linear. But it was also a path of consistent idealization. However, in the "Sistine Madonna" this idealizing beginning is relegated to the background and gives way to a tragic feeling emanating from this ideally beautiful young woman with a baby god in her arms, whom she gives in atonement for human sins. The gaze of the Madonna, directed past, or rather through the viewer, is full of mournful foresight of the tragic fate of her son (whose gaze is also childishly serious). “The Sistine Madonna” is one of the most perfect works of Raphael in terms of language: the figure of Mary with the baby, strictly looming against the sky, is united by a common rhythm of movement with the figures of St. Barbarians and Popes Sixtus IV, whose gestures are turned to the Madonna, as well as the views of two angels (more like putti, which is so characteristic of the Renaissance), - in the lower part of the composition, the figures are united by a common golden color, as if personifying the divine radiance. But the main thing is the type of the face of the Madonna, which embodies the synthesis of the ancient ideal of beauty with the spirituality of the Christian ideal, which is so characteristic of the worldview of the High Renaissance. The “Sistine Madonna” is a late work by Raphael - [cm. rice. 2]. Before that, in 1509, Pope Julius II invited the young artist to Rome to paint the papal rooms (stations) in the Vatican Palace. At the beginning of the XVI century. Rome becomes the main cultural center of Italy. The art of the High Renaissance reaches its peak in this city, where, by the will of the patronizing popes Julius II and Leo X, artists such as Bramante, Michelangelo and Raphael work simultaneously. Art develops under the sign of national unity (for the popes dreamed of uniting the country under their rule), feeds on ancient traditions, and expresses the ideology of humanism. The general ideological program of painting papal rooms is to serve to glorify the authority of the Catholic Church and its head, the pope.

Rice. 2 "Sistine Madonna" (1515-1519)

Rafael paints the first two stanzas. In the Stanza della Senyatura (the room of signatures, seals), he painted four allegory frescoes of the main areas of human spiritual activity: philosophy, poetry, theology and jurisprudence. For the art of the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, it was common to depict sciences and arts in the form of individual allegorical figures. Raphael solved these themes in the form of multi-figure compositions, sometimes representing real group portraits, interesting both for their individualization and typicality. It was in these portraits that Raphael embodied the humanistic ideal of a perfect intellectual man, according to the Renaissance. The official program for the painting of Stanza della Senyatura was a reflection of the idea of ​​reconciling the Christian religion with ancient culture. The artistic implementation of this program by Raphael - the son of his time - resulted in the victory of the secular beginning over the church. In the fresco "The School of Athens", which personifies philosophy, Raphael presented Plato and Aristotle surrounded by philosophers and scientists from various periods of history. Their gestures (one points to the sky, the other to the earth) characterize the essence of the differences in their teachings. On the right, in the image of Euclid, Raphael depicted his great contemporary architect Bramante; next are famous astronomers and mathematicians; at the very edge of the right group, the artist painted himself. On the steps of the stairs, he depicted the founder of the Cynic school, Diogenes, in the left group - Socrates, Pythagoras, in the foreground, in a state of deep thought, - Heraclitus of Ephesus. According to some researchers, the majestic and beautiful image of Plato was inspired by the extraordinary appearance of Leonardo, and in Heraclitus, Raphael captured Michelangelo. But no matter how expressive the individualities depicted by Raphael, the main thing in the painting is the general atmosphere of high spirituality, a sense of the strength and power of the human spirit and mind.

Plato and Aristotle, like other ancient sages, were supposed to symbolize the sympathy of the popes of pagan antiquity. Placed freely in space, in a variety of rhythm and movement, separate groups are united by the figures of Aristotle and Plato. Logic, absolute stability, clarity and simplicity of composition evoke in the viewer the impression of extraordinary integrity and amazing harmony. In the fresco "Parnassus", personifying poetry, Apollo is depicted surrounded by muses and poets - from Homer and Sappho to Dante. The complexity of the composition was that the Parnassus fresco was placed on a wall torn by a window opening. With the image of a female figure leaning on a casing, Raphael skillfully connected the overall composition with the shape of the window. The image of Dante is repeated twice in the frescoes of Raphael: the first time he depicted the great poet in the allegory of theology, often incorrectly referred to as "Disputation", among artists and philosophers of the Quattrocento (Fra Angelico, Savonarola, etc.). The fourth fresco of Stanza della Senyatura "Measure, Wisdom and Strength" is dedicated to jurisprudence – .

In the second room, called the “stanza of Eliodor”, Raphael painted frescoes on historical and legendary subjects glorifying the popes of Rome: “The Expulsion of Eliodor” - on the plot of the Bible about how the punishment of the Lord in the form of an angel - a beautiful rider in golden armor - fell upon the Syrian leader Eliodor, who tried to steal gold from the Jerusalem temple, intended for widows and orphans. Raphael, who worked on the orders of Julius II, does not accidentally turn to this topic: the French are preparing for a campaign in Italy and the pope recalls God's punishment of all who encroach on Rome. No wonder Raphael introduced into the composition and the image of the pope himself, who is carried in an armchair to the defeated criminal. Other frescoes are also dedicated to the glorification of the popes, their miraculous power: “Mass in Bolsena”, “Meeting of Pope Leo I with Attila”, - and in the first pope the features of Julius II are given, and this is one of his most expressive portraits, and in the last - Leo XI. In the frescoes of the second stanza, Raphael paid great attention not to linear architectonics, but to the role of color and light. This is especially evident in the fresco "Bringing the Apostle Peter out of the dungeon". The threefold appearance of an angel in three scenes depicted on the same plane of the wall, in a single composition (which in itself was an archaic technique), is presented in complex lighting of various light sources: the moon, torches, radiance emanating from the angel, creating great emotional tension. This is one of the most dramatic and subtle in color frescoes. The remaining frescoes of the Vatican stanzas were painted by Raphael's students according to his sketches.

The students also helped Raphael in painting the loggias of the Vatican adjoining the rooms of the pope, painted according to his sketches and under his supervision with motifs of antique ornaments, drawn mainly from the newly discovered ancient grottoes (hence the name "grotesques"). Rafael performed works of various genres. His talent as a decorator, as well as a director, a storyteller, fully manifested itself in a series of eight cardboard tapestries for the Sistine Chapel on scenes from the life of the Apostles Peter and Paul (“The Miraculous Catch of Fish”, for example). These paintings during the XVII-XVIII centuries. served as a kind of standard for the classicists. Raphael’s deep understanding of the essence of antiquity is especially evident in the painting of the Roman villa Farnesina, built according to his project, the fresco “The Triumph of Galatea”, scenes from Apuleius’ tale of Cupid and Psyche). Raphael was also the greatest portrait painter of his era, who created the kind of image in which the individual is in close unity with the typical, where, in addition to certain specific features, the image of a person of the era appears, which allows us to see historical portraits-types in Raphael’s portraits (“Pope Julius II”, “Leo X”, the artist’s friend the writer Castiglione, the beautiful “Donna Velata”, etc. .). And in his portrait images, as a rule, internal balance and harmony dominate.

At the end of his life, Raphael was overburdened with a variety of works and orders. It is even hard to imagine that all this could be done by one person. He was a central figure in the artistic life of Rome, after the death of Bramante (1514) he became the chief architect of the Cathedral of St. Peter, was in charge of archaeological excavations in Rome and its environs and the protection of ancient monuments. This inevitably led to the involvement of students and a large staff of assistants in the execution of large orders. Raphael died in 1520; his premature death was unexpected for his contemporaries. His ashes are buried in the Pantheon.

4. The place of Raphael in the Renaissance.

Having lived only thirty-seven years, he carried out almost all his undertakings. The very concept of incompleteness somehow does not fit with the nature of his art - the embodiment of clear proportion, strict balance, purity of style.

And in the life of Raphael, apparently, there were no severe crises and kinks. He developed consistently and smoothly, working hard, carefully assimilating the experience of teachers, thoughtfully studying ancient monuments. In his earliest youth, he perfectly mastered the manner and technique of his Umbrian teacher Perugino, and subsequently learned a lot from both Leonardo and Michelangelo - but all the time he followed his own path, which was determined very early. Raphael, as a true son of the Renaissance, was, if not as versatile as Leonardo, then still a very versatile artist: an architect, a muralist, a portrait master, and a master of decor. But to this day he is best known as the creator of the marvelous Madonnas. Contemplating them, each time, as it were, they rediscover Raphael for themselves.

All his art is extremely harmonious, breathing inner world, and reason, the highest, is combined in it with philanthropy and spiritual purity. For his art is joyful and happy. For it expresses a certain moral satisfaction, reconciliation of a person with his mortal fate, acceptance of life in all its fullness and doom. Unlike Leonardo, Raphael does not torment us with his secrets, does not crush us with his vision, but kindly invites us to enjoy the earthly beauty with him. Unlike Leonardo, he lived much less - but he managed to express in painting, probably everything he could. And this means - a complete kingdom of harmony, beauty and goodness.

Raphael did not discover new worlds, unlike Leonardo and Michelangelo, he did not embarrass his contemporaries with the audacity of his searches: he strove for a higher synthesis, for a radiant crowning of everything that had been achieved before him, and this synthesis was found and embodied by him.

Although Raphael did not have worthy successors among his students, his art for a long time retained the value of indisputable authority and model (N. Poussin, A. A. Ivanov and others were inspired by his example). However, the defenders of academism also relied on the legacy of Raphael, who saw in his works the highest examples of idealizing art; therefore, opponents of academicism often opposed R., while underestimating the true, deeply realistic foundations of his work.

Raphael himself considered himself a representative of the Umbrian school, based on Roman antiquity. Researchers believed that he was prone to imitation, but the artist himself always studied - from Perugino - the ideal type of beauty, from Leonardo - spatial thinking. All his life he competed with the titans of his time - Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. He had neither the intellect of the first nor the power of the second, but he was a happy student, he worked hard and hard. Realizing that it was impossible to surpass Michelangelo in depicting a naked body, he began to beautifully drape his figures; he combined the compositional techniques of Leonardo with the characteristic movements of Giorgione. The enormous popularity of Raphael is explained by the fact that he created a style that is understandable and pleasing to everyone without exception. His art is in the full sense of the word the "golden mean" in comparison with his eternally searching, restless, suffering from the inability to achieve the ideal of his brothers in painting. In hard work, Raphael gradually achieved the ideal perfection of form, clarity, balance, characteristic of Roman classicism. He was a brilliant master of composition, which always included architectural forms that acquired style-forming significance ("The Betrothal of Mary", "The School of Athens"). The most famous are the Raphael Madonnas, which, under his brush, became a symbol of perfect harmony. "Madonna Conestabile" - a composition in a circle - a tondo, a favorite of the artist; "Madonna in the Meadow" - a classic triangle. The most famous of them - "Sistine Madonna" (1515-19) became the standard for academic art and the norm of "good taste". Gradually, following the manner of Raphael led to a degeneration into academicism.

Conclusion

Raphael was the greatest artist of his time, a genius who opened up new horizons of art. He left behind few works, but each of them was a stage in the history of culture. Raphael is also known as a versatile scientist. His scientific discoveries, for example, his research in the field of aircraft, are of interest in our age of astronautics. Thousands of pages of Raphael's manuscripts, covering literally all areas of knowledge, testify to the universality of his genius. – .

Bibliography

1. Max Dvorak "History of Italian Art in the Renaissance" - Moscow - 1987

2. Alpatov M.V. "Artistic problems of Italian art" - Moscow - 1976

3. Grashchenkov V.N. "Rafael" - Moscow - 1971

4. Great Soviet encyclopedia. v.21. Moscow-1975

The Italian Renaissance has become a new chapter in the history of world art, and one of its heroes is Rafael Santi.

Raphael Santi (1483-1520) - one of the greatest masters Renaissance, represent the Florentine school.

The beginning of the creative path of Raphael.

Raphael was born in March 1483 in the city of Urbino, located in eastern Italy. First teacher famous artist one can rightly call his father, who, being the court painter of the Duke of Urbinsky, saw a real talent in little Raphael and taught him the basics of painting. But, having lost his mother at the age of eight, and his father at eleven, Rafael remained in the care of his uncle, who did not care much about the fate of his nephew.

For five years after the death of his father, the boy studied with Timoteo Viti, the court painter of the dukes. In 1500, Raphael was lucky enough to get into the workshop of Pietro Perugino, who was considered one of the outstanding artists of that time. There, young Santi begins to learn the basics of art under the guidance of a great master.

After a short time, Raphael's skill reached such a high level that his works practically did not differ from those that were written by Perugino.

Naturally gifted Rafael Santi learned a lot from the workshop of Pietro Perugino. In just a few years he reached the level of his teacher

The heyday of Raphael

At the age of 21, Rafael completed his studies at the studio of Perugino and moved to Florence, where he became a student of Leonardo da Vinci himself. Under his influence, Raphael begins to study anatomy, draws from life, comprehends complex angles and poses, masters the mechanics of movements, at the same time he tries to find rhythmically balanced compositions.

At this stage of creative development, Raphael made the Madonna the main theme of his works, the image of which can be found in many of his paintings. Fra Bartolomeo and Michelangelo also had a significant influence on his work.

At the age of 26, Raphael, at the invitation of Pope Julius II himself, moved to Rome to participate in archaeological excavations and familiarization with ancient monuments. At the same time, he was appointed "artist of the apostolic see."

Being in this position, Raphael painted the main chambers of the Vatican Palace. In the same period, while working in Rome, many beautiful frescoes were painted, for example, the painting of Stanza della Senyatura.

Raphael's painting is characterized by the harmony of the whole and measured rhythm, it is distinguished by the balance of the composition and the delicate use of colors. But already in last years in Raphael's paintings, a certain spectacle and coldness appear, the poses of the characters become too spectacular, and gesticulation becomes redundant, the artist's works already lack the harmony that was inherent in them before.

The main motive for Raphael's work was the idea, inherent in the entire era of the High Renaissance, about the existence of a beautiful and perfect person who lives in harmony with the whole world. The main areas of his work are portrait and religious painting.

Raphael and architecture

Raphael was famous not only as an outstanding painter, but also as a talented architect. After the death of the great Donato Bramante in 1514, Raphael succeeded him as the chief architect of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and he also completed the Vatican courtyard, begun by Bramante.

As an architect, Raphael became famous for the construction of many buildings, including the Church of San Eligio degli Orefici, the Chigi Chapel, etc. His activities are mainly aimed at palace and church architecture.

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Rafael Santi is one of the greatest masters of the 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, die blinding radiance
Two wondrous eyes sent down by you.
They promise either cold or summer heat,
But they do not have a small drop of compassion.
As soon as I knew their charm,
How to lose freedom and peace.
Neither the wind from the mountains nor the surf
They will not cope with the fire as punishment for me.
Ready to meekly endure your oppression
And live as a slave in chains
Losing them is tantamount to death.
Anyone can understand my suffering
Who was unable to control passions
And the victim became a love whirlwind.

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 contemporaries, the artist himself was the embodiment of virtue.
Giorgio Vasari in his "Biographies" extols Raphael - his modesty, charming courtesy, grace, diligence, beauty, good morals, his "beautiful nature, infinitely generous in mercy." “Each evil thought disappeared at its very sight,” writes Vasari. And further: "Those who are so happily gifted as Raphael of Urbino are not people, but mortal gods."
A few centuries later he is echoed Alexander Benois: “Raphael is the personification of the Renaissance. Disappear everything and remain only his creation, it will speak relentlessly admiring words about that time ... Raphael's attention is drawn to the whole universe, his eye “caresses” everything, his art praises everything.

From the biography of Raphael Santi (1483-1520)

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

Urbino. contemporary photography
The city has completely retained its unique appearance since the Renaissance, where there is little reminiscent of modernity. Everyone who comes here has the feeling that they stepped over the 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 painter and headed the most famous art workshop in Urbino. Its building has also survived to this day. After his death, the workshop was managed by his assistants, here Rafael acquired the first skills of the craft.
The artist left Urbino at the age of 17.
Mentors played a certain role in the development of great talent: Baldassare Castiglione (Raphael corresponded with him until the end of his life), Perugino (Raphael came to his studio in 1501). It is not surprising that the early works of the artist are made in the style of Perugino.
In 1502, the first Raphaelian Madonna appeared - "Madonna Solly", and from that time on, Raphael's Madonnas would paint all his life.

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

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

Florence

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

Raphael "Madonna Granduk" (c. 1505). Oil, board. 84.4x55.9 cm. Pitti Gallery (Florence)
The Beautiful Gardener (1507, Paris, Louvre) has a more complex composition.
The "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 is marked by the search for color, which becomes more restrained, acquires tonal unity, the bright intense colors of the early works, made under the influence of Perugino, are gradually leaving his work.
In 1507, Raphael met Bramante. Donato Bramante(1444-1514) - the largest representative of the architecture of the High Renaissance. Himself famous work is the main temple of Western Christianity - the Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican. It was Bramante who built a 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.
Acquaintance with Bramante was of great importance for Raphael as an architect.
Rafael'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 contains allegorical figures and scenes. Four lunettes contain compositions that reveal the content of each of the four areas of human activity: Debate, the Athenian school, Wisdom, Measure and Strength, and Parnassus.
Let us dwell in more detail on only 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 the best works not only Raphael, but also Renaissance art in general.
Among the characters of the image, the most famous personalities of schoolchildren can be noted: 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. Disciple 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
Further, Raphael, together with his students, at the request of Pope Julius II, decorated with dramatic episodes from Christian history the Stanzas d'Elidoro (1511-1514) and the Stanzas del Inchendio (1514-1517). The Stanzas are the front rooms of the Vatican Palace.
The fame of the artist grew, orders increased and exceeded the real possibilities of Raphael, so he delegated some of the work to his assistants and students. Simultaneously with the work on the frescoes, Raphael created cardboard ten tapestries to decorate the Sistine Chapel. In Rome, the artist also frescoed the villa of the banker Agostino Chigi, who was his patron. Here is one of the frescoes from Greek mythology.

Fresco by Raphael "The Triumph of Galatea" (c. 1512). 295x224 cm
Nereid (sea deity) appearance reminiscent of Slavic mermaids) Galatea fell in love with the shepherd Akida. Cyclops Polyphemus, also in love with Galatea, ambushed Akis and crushed him with a rock; Galatea turned her unfortunate lover into a beautiful transparent river. In his fresco, Raphael departed from the exact presentation of the plot and painted the scene known as the “abduction of Galatea”.
Raphael painted the Chigi chapel in the church of Santa Maria della Pace (“Prophets and Sibyls”, c. 1514), and also built the Chigi funerary chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo.
In the Vatican, Raphael also carried out orders from churches to create altarpieces.

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

Architecture

In the painting by Raphael "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 "Betrothal of the Virgin Mary" (1504). Wood, oil. 174-121 cm. Brera Pinacoteca (Milan)
This is a symbol, but also a manifesto of the master's new architectural ideas.
The activity of Raphael the architect is a link between the work of Bramante and Palladio. After the death of Bramante, Raphael assumed the position of chief architect of the Cathedral of St. Peter 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 rooms of the Pope, 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 direction, is an ensemble that combines architecture, painting and sculpture.

Loggia 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 similar 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 finished graphic works and preparatory drawings, sketches for paintings.

Raphael "Head of a young apostle" (1519-1520). Sketch for the painting "Transfiguration"
Engravings were created based on Raphael's drawings, although the artist himself did not engage in engravings. Even during Raphael's lifetime, the Italian engraver Marcantonio Raimondi created many engravings based on his work, and the drawings for the engravings were chosen by the author himself. And after the death of Raphael, engravings were created based on his drawings.

Raphael "Lucretia"

Marcantonio Raimondi "Lucretia" (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 the excavations. Buried in the Pantheon. There is an epitaph on his tomb: "Here lies the great Raphael, during whose life nature was afraid to be defeated, and after his death she was afraid to die."

Sarcophagus of Raphael in the Pantheon