| "...art historians
have confused their works for centuries." |
Raphael was born Raffaello Santi or Raffaello Sanzio in Urbino on 6 April 1483. He
received his early training in art from his father, who was the painter Giovanni Santi.
According to many art historians, he also studied with Timoteo Viti at Urbino. This is
assumed due to the works Raphael executed that showed a strong similarity to works of
Timoteo Viti. These works contain both a delicate miniature like quality and poetic
atmosphere.
Raphael moved to Perugia in 1499 where he became a student and
assistant of the painter Perugino. Raphael imitated his master very closely and art
historians have confused their works for centuries. The styles are remarkably similar
however, the digital brushstroke analysis of Veritus has been able to lay the controversy
to rest. The digital verification technology readily separates the works of the two
masters, providing authoritative attributions for both.
Raphael moved to Florence in 1504, where he carefully studied the work
of the established masters of the time. He learned the methods of representing the play of
light and shade, anatomy, and dramatic action from such established masters as Leonardo da
Vinci, Michelangelo, and Fra Bartolommeo. He smoothly made the transition from the typical
style of the Umbrian school, with its emphasis on perspective and rigidly geometrical
composition, to the far more animated and informal manner of painting prevalent in
Florence. Because Raphael was so talented at adapting the styles of his contemporaries,
some of his paintings have remained hidden within the works of Fra Bartolommeo until they
were discovered through research conducted by Veritus. A number his paintings have been
discovered within in the body of works other prominent artists.
Raphael was called to Rome by Pope Julius II in 1508, where he was
commissioned to execute frescoes in four small rooms within the Vatican Palace. The
ceiling of the Stanza della Segnatura, painted between 1509 and 1511, are decorated with
scenes elaborating ideas suggested by personifications of Theology, Philosophy, Poetry,
and Justice. On the wall under Theology is the Disputá, representing a group of
theologians discussing the mystery of the Trinity. The famous fresco, The School of
Athens, is located on the wall beneath Philosophy. Here is portrayed an open but
architectural space in which Plato, Aristotle, and other ancient philosophers are engaged
in discourse. The wall beneath Poetry contains Parnassus, where the Greek god
Apollo appears surrounded by the Muses and the great poets. The second Vatican chamber,
the Stanza d'Eliodoro was painted between 1512 and 1514. This room painted with the aid of
Raphael's assistants and contains scenes representing the triumph of the Roman Catholic
church over its enemies.
Raphael's influence and responsibilities increased greatly after the
death of Pope Julius II in 1513. With the accession of Leo X Raphael was made chief
architect of Saint Peter's Basilica in 1514. A year later he was appointed director of all
the excavations of antiquities in and near Rome. With his many activities he had a limited
time to paint and he painted only part of the third room of the Vatican Palace, the Stanza
del Incendio. In the fourth room, the Sala Constantina, Raphael merely provided the
designs. During this same period Raphael also designed ten tapestries illustrating the
acts of Christ's apostles for the Sistine Chapel.Raphael also executed a number of
paintings in addition to the major undertakings during this same period.
He fell ill was bled by the physician, but his conditions worsened and
he died on Good Friday, 6 April 1520. It was the anniversary of his 37 th birthday. Many
uncompleted works were finished posthumously by his students, including the most notable
of Raphael's many followers, Giulio Romano.
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