"Carrying the Cross" is one of Raphael's most tragic works. It conveys not only the moment of their life of Christ, described in religious sources, but also human emotions that the author so diligently conveyed. The feeling of grief, [...]
"Bridgewater Madonna" is part of a series of paintings by Raphael Santi dedicated to images of the Madonna. Brush legendary artist diligently drew images of the Madonna, each time trying to find, “probe” that same ideal, mysterious and unattainable. The desire to portray [...]
Ceiling fresco, mosaic. Dimensions: 120 by 105 cm. Dated 1509-1511. Located in Stanza della Segnatura, Apostolic Palace, Vatican City. The said stanza – translated from Italian as room – is the Pope’s office […]
The great Italian artist Raphael Santi was left an orphan at an early age, but gained his first experience as a painter in the studio of his father, who painted at the court of the Duke of Urbino. Subsequently, in his work, Raphael was guided by the first [...]
The amazing time of the Renaissance gave birth to the stories of many brilliant sculptors and artists. It is noteworthy that the talented people of that time had a versatile gift - painting, sculpture, graphic, and sometimes architectural. Raphael's genius is more […]
In the image you can clearly see how much Raphael was influenced by the work of another artist, Michelangelo. In the center of the canvas is a sacred group - the four evangelists are depicted by four beasts. In the center is the unclothed God the Father. His body […]
The work was painted in 1502-1503 for the Oddi altar. An interesting fact when creating this canvas was that the artist did not independently determine the main components of the image. Moreover, his favorite religious theme in the early […]
Raphael (Raffaello Santi) (1483 - 1520) – artist (painter, graphic artist), architect of the era High Renaissance.
Biography of Rafael Santi
In 1500 he moved to Perugia and entered Perugino’s workshop to study painting. At the same time, Raphael completed his first independent works: the skills and abilities adopted from his father had an impact. The most successful of his early works are “Madonna Conestabile” (1502-1503), “The Knight’s Dream”, “Saint George” (both 1504)
Feeling like an accomplished artist, Raphael left his teacher in 1504 and moved to Florence. Here he worked hard to create the image of the Madonna, to whom he dedicated no less than ten works (“Madonna with the Goldfinch,” 1506-1507; “Entombment,” 1507, etc.).
At the end of 1508, Pope Julius II invited Raphael to move to Rome, where the artist spent the final period of his short life. At the court of the Pope, he received the position of “artist of the Apostolic See.” The main place in his work was now occupied by the paintings of the state rooms (stanzas) of the Vatican Palace.
In Rome, Raphael achieved perfection as a portrait painter and acquired the opportunity to realize his talent as an architect: from 1514 he supervised the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral.
In 1515 he was appointed Commissioner of Antiquities, which meant studying and protecting ancient monuments and supervision of excavations.
The most famous of Raphael’s works, “The Sistine Madonna” (1515-1519), was also written in Rome. In the last years of his life, the popular artist was so busy with orders that he had to entrust their implementation to students, limiting himself to drawing up sketches and general supervision of the work.
Died April 6, 1520 in Rome.
The tragedy of the brilliant master was that he could not leave behind worthy successors.
However, Raphael's work had a huge influence on the development of world painting.
Works of Rafael Santi
The idea of the brightest and most sublime ideals of Renaissance humanism was most fully embodied in his work by Raphael Santi (1483-1520). A younger contemporary of Leonardo, who lived a short, extremely eventful life, Raphael synthesized the achievements of his predecessors and created his ideal of a beautiful, harmoniously developed person surrounded by majestic architecture or landscape.
As a seventeen-year-old boy, he reveals true creative maturity, creating a series of images full of harmony and spiritual clarity.
Tender lyricism and subtle spirituality distinguish one of his early works - “Madonna Conestabile” (1502, St. Petersburg, Hermitage), an enlightened image of a young mother depicted against the backdrop of a transparent Umbrian landscape. The ability to freely arrange figures in space, to connect them with each other and with the environment is also manifested in the composition “The Betrothal of Mary” (1504, Milan, Brera Gallery). The spaciousness in the construction of the landscape, the harmony of architectural forms, the balance and integrity of all parts of the composition testify to the emergence of Raphael as a master of the High Renaissance.
Upon his arrival in Florence, Raphael easily absorbs the most important achievements of the artists of the Florentine school with its pronounced plastic beginning and wide scope of reality.
The content of his art remains the lyrical theme of bright maternal love, to which he attaches special significance. She receives more mature expression in such works as “Madonna in the Greens” (1505, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum), “Madonna with the Goldfinch” (Florence, Uffizi), “The Beautiful Gardener” (1507, Paris, Louvre). Essentially, they all vary the same type of composition, composed of the figures of Mary, the infant Christ and the Baptist, forming pyramidal groups against the backdrop of a beautiful rural landscape in the spirit of those found earlier by Leonardo compositional techniques. The naturalness of movements, the soft plasticity of forms, the smoothness of melodious lines, the beauty of the ideal type of Madonna, the clarity and purity of landscape backgrounds help to reveal the sublime poetry of the figurative structure of these compositions.
In 1508, Raphael was invited to work in Rome, at the court of Pope Julius II, a powerful, ambitious and energetic man who sought to increase art treasures his capital and attract to his service the most talented cultural figures of that time. At the beginning of the 16th century, Rome inspired hopes for the national unification of the country. The ideals of a national order created the ground for creative growth, for the embodiment of advanced aspirations in art. Here, in close proximity to the heritage of antiquity, Raphael's talent blossoms and matures, acquiring a new scope and features of calm greatness.
Raphael receives an order to paint the state rooms (the so-called stanzas) of the Vatican Palace. This work, which continued intermittently from 1509 to 1517, put Raphael among the greatest masters of Italian monumental art who confidently solved the problem of synthesizing Renaissance architecture and painting.
Raphael's gift as a monumentalist and decorator was revealed in all its splendor when painting the Stanzi della Segnatura (printing room).
On the long walls of this room, covered with sail vaults, the compositions “Disputation” and “School of Athens” are placed, on the narrow walls - “Parnassus” and “Wisdom, Temperance and Strength”, personifying the four areas of human spiritual activity: theology, philosophy, poetry and jurisprudence . The vault, divided into four parts, is decorated with allegorical figures that form a single decorative system with wall paintings. Thus, the entire space of the room was filled with painting.
Dispute School of Athens Adam and Eve
Combining images of the Christian religion and pagan mythology testified to the spread among humanists of that time of the ideas of reconciliation of the Christian religion with ancient culture and the unconditional victory of the secular principle over the church. Even in the “Disputation” (a dispute between the church fathers about communion), dedicated to the depiction of church figures, among the participants in the dispute, one can recognize the poets and artists of Italy - Dante, Fra Beato Angelico and other painters and writers. The triumph of humanistic ideas in Renaissance art and its connection with antiquity is evidenced by the composition “The School of Athens,” glorifying the mind of beauty and strong man, ancient science and philosophy.
The painting is perceived as the embodiment of a dream of a bright future.
From the depths of the enfilade of grandiose arched spans emerges a group of ancient thinkers, in the center of which is the majestic gray-bearded Plato and the confident, inspired Aristotle, with a hand gesture pointing to the ground, the founders of idealistic and materialistic philosophy. Below, on the left by the stairs, Pythagoras was bending over a book, surrounded by students, on the right was Euclid, and here, at the very edge, Raphael depicted himself next to the painter Sodoma. This is a young man with a gentle, attractive face. All the characters in the fresco are united by a mood of high spiritual uplift and deep thought. They form groups that are indissoluble in their integrity and harmony, where each character precisely takes its place and where the architecture itself, in its strict regularity and majesty, helps to recreate the atmosphere of a high rise of creative thought.
The fresco “The Expulsion of Eliodorus” in Stanza d’Eliodoro stands out for its intense drama. The suddenness of the miracle taking place - the expulsion of the temple robber by the heavenly horseman - is conveyed by the rapid diagonal of the main movement and the use of light effect. Pope Julius II is depicted among the spectators watching the expulsion of Eliodorus. This is an allusion to contemporary events of Raphael - the expulsion of French troops from the Papal States.
The Roman period of Raphael's work was marked by high achievements in the field of portraiture.
Acute portrait features acquire full of life characters from the “Mass in Bolsena” (frescoes in Stanza d’Eliodoro). Raphael also turned to the portrait genre in easel painting, showing here his originality, revealing the most characteristic and significant in the model. He painted portraits of Pope Julius II (1511, Florence, Uffizi), Pope Leo X with Cardinal Ludovico dei Rossi and Giulio dei Medici (circa 1518, ibid.) and other portrait paintings. The image of the Madonna continues to occupy an important place in his art, acquiring features of great grandeur, monumentality, confidence, and strength. Such is the “Madonna della sedia” (“Madonna in the Armchair”, 1516, Florence, Pitti Gallery) with its harmonious, closed-in-a-circle composition.
At the same time, Raphael created his greatest creation "Sistine Madonna"(1515-1519, Dresden, Art Gallery), intended for the church of St. Sixta in Piacenza. Unlike the earlier, lighter in mood, lyrical Madonnas, this is a majestic image, full of deep meaning. The curtains pulled apart from above to the sides reveal Mary easily walking through the clouds with a baby in her arms. Her gaze allows you to look into the world of her experiences. Seriously and sadly and anxiously, she looks somewhere into the distance, as if foreseeing the tragic fate of her son. To the left of the Madonna is Pope Sixtus, enthusiastically contemplating the miracle, to the right is Saint Barbara, reverently lowering her gaze. Below are two angels, looking up and as if returning us to the main image - the Madonna and her childishly thoughtful baby.
Impeccable harmony and dynamic balance of the composition, subtle rhythm of smooth linear outlines, naturalness and freedom of movement make up the irresistible power of this solid, beautiful image.
Life's truth and ideal traits are combined with the spiritual purity of the complex tragic character of the Sistine Madonna. Some researchers found its prototype in the features of “The Veiled Lady” (circa 1513, Florence, Pitti Gallery), but Raphael himself, in a letter to his friend Castiglione, wrote that it was based creative method lies the principle of selection and generalization of life observations: “In order to paint a beauty, I need to see many beauties, but due to the lack ... of beautiful women, I use some idea that comes to my mind.” Thus, in reality, the artist finds features that correspond to his ideal, which rises above the random and transitory.
Raphael died at the age of thirty-seven, leaving unfinished the paintings of the Villa Farnesina, the Vatican loggias and a number of other works completed from cardboards and drawings by his students. Raphael's free, graceful, relaxed drawings put their creator among the world's largest draftsmen. His works in the field of architecture and applied art testify to him as a multi-talented figure of the High Renaissance, who gained great fame among his contemporaries. The very name of Raphael later turned into common noun the ideal artist.
Numerous Italian students and followers of Raphael raised the teacher’s creative method to an indisputable dogma, which contributed to the spread of imitation in Italian art and foreshadowed the emerging crisis of humanism.
- Rafael Santi was born into the family of a court poet and artist, and he himself was a favorite painter of those in power, feeling at ease and comfortably in secular society. Nevertheless, he was of low origin. He was an orphan from the age of 11, and his guardian spent years suing his stepmother for the family property.
- The famous painter painted the “Sistine Madonna” by order of the “black monks” - the Benedictines. He created his masterpiece on a huge canvas, alone, without the participation of students or assistants.
- The painting historian Vasari, followed by other biographers of Raphael, say that the baker’s daughter Margherita Luti, known as Fornarina, is embodied in the features of many “Madonnas”. Some consider her a calculating libertine, others - an honest lover, because of whom the artist even refused to marry a woman of noble origin. But many art critics believe that all this is a romantic myth about love, and no one knows Raphael’s true relationships with women.
- The artist’s painting, entitled “Fornarina,” depicting a semi-nude model, became the object of passionate discussions among doctors. A bluish spot on the model's chest led to speculation that the model had cancer.
- The same Vasari reports gossip that, being a papal painter, the artist did not really believe in God or the devil. This is unlikely, although the statement of one of the popes of that time is quite well known: “How much profit this fairy tale about Christ has brought us!”
Bibliography
- Toynes Christophe. Raphael. Taschen. 2005
- Makhov A. Rafael. Young guard. 2011. (Life of wonderful people)
- Eliasberg N. E. Raphael. - M.: Art, 1961. - 56, p. - 20,000 copies. (region)
- Stam S. M. Florentine Madonnas of Raphael: (Questions ideological content). - Saratov: Saratov University Publishing House, 1982. - 80 p. - 60,000 copies.
When writing this article, materials from the following sites were used:citaty.su ,
If you find any inaccuracies or want to add to this article, send us information to the email address admin@site, we and our readers will be very grateful to you.
All of Raphael's paintings are a vivid reflection of his subtle nature. WITH early years he was endowed with a seasoned work ethic and a desire for spiritual and pure beauty. Therefore, in his works he tirelessly conveyed the enchanting forms of lofty ideas. Perhaps that’s why something like this was born under the master’s brush great amount works that convey the perfection of the surrounding world and its ideals. Probably, none of the artists of the Renaissance so skillfully and deeply revived the subjects of their paintings. Just remember a real masterpiece of art of that time “ Sistine Madonna" The image of a unique, wonderful vision appears unshakably and desired before the viewer. It seems to descend from the bluish depths of heaven and envelop those around with its majestic and noble golden radiance. Mary descends solemnly and boldly, holding her baby in her arms. Such paintings by Raphael are a vivid reflection of his sublime feelings and pure sincere emotions. Monumental forms, clear silhouettes, balanced composition - this is the whole author, his aspirations for high ideals and perfection.
On his canvases, the master fell in love again with female beauty, graceful grandeur and the gentle charm of heroines. It’s not for nothing that he wrote at least two of his works “ Three Graces" And " Cupid and the Graces"dedicated to the beautiful goddesses of Roman mythology - the ancient Greek Charites. Their soft forms and rich lines embodied the most joyful, kind and bright beginning of all life. Raphael tirelessly drew inspiration from them. He purposefully depicted goddesses naked in order to bring each viewer closer to virgin and tender nature. high art. Perhaps this is why the rest of the artist’s works vividly display divine power, sensual beauty, inextricably linked with the ideals of the surrounding world.
Text: Ksusha Kors
Biography
The era of the High Renaissance in Italy gave the world great artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian. Each of them embodied the spirit and ideals of the era in their work. The works of Leonardo clearly reflected cognitive purposefulness, the works of Michelangelo - the pathos and drama of the struggle for great perfection, Titian - cheerful free-thinking, Raphael glorifies the feelings of beauty and harmony.
Raphael (more precisely Raffaello Santi) was born April 6, 1483(according to other sources, March 28, 1483) in the family of the court artist and poet of the Duke of Urbino Giovanni Santi in the city of Urbino. Raphael's father was an educated man and it was he who instilled in his son a love of art. And Raphael received his first painting lessons from his father.
When Rafael was 8 years old, his mother died, and at the age of 11, after the death of his father, he was left an orphan.
The city of Urbino, where Raphael was born and raised, in the middle of the 15th century was a brilliant artistic center, a center of humanistic culture in Italy. The young artist could get acquainted with wonderful works of art in the churches and palaces of Urbino, and the beneficial atmosphere of beauty and art awakened imagination, dreams, and educated artistic taste. Biographers and researchers of Raphael's work suggest that for the next 5-6 years he studied painting with mediocre Urbino masters Evangelista di Piandimeleto and Timoteo Viti.
IN 1500 year, Rafael Santi moved to Perugia to continue his education in the workshop of the most important Umbrian painter, Pietro Perugino (Vannucci). Artistic style The contemplative and lyrical Perugino was close. First artistic compositions were performed by Raphael at the age of 17-19 " Three Graces», « Knight's Dream" and the famous " Madonna Conestabile" The theme of the Madonna is especially close to Raphael’s lyrical talent and it is no coincidence that it will remain one of the main ones in his work.
Raphael's Madonnas are usually depicted against the backdrop of landscapes, their faces breathing calm and love.
During the Peruginian period, the painter created the first monumental composition for the church - “ Mary's Betrothal", marking a new stage in his work. IN 1504 year Raphael moves to Florence. He lived in Florence for four years, occasionally traveling to Urbino, Perugia, and Bologna. In Florence, the artist becomes familiar with the artistic ideals of Renaissance art and becomes acquainted with the works of antiquity. At the same time, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo worked in Florence, creating cardboards for battle scenes in the Palazzo Vecchiu.
Raphael studies ancient art, makes sketches from the works of Donatello, from the compositions of Leonardo and Michelangelo. He draws a lot from life, depicts models naked, and strives to correctly convey the structure of the body, its movement, and plasticity. At the same time, he studies the laws of monumental composition.
Raphael's painting style is changing: it expresses plastic more strongly, forms are more generalized, compositions are more simple and strict. During this period of his work, the image of the Madonna becomes the main one. The fragile, dreamy Umbrian Madonnas were replaced by images of more earthly full-blooded ones, their inner world became more complex and emotionally rich.
Compositions depicting Madonnas and Children brought Raphael fame and popularity: “ Madonna del Granduca" (1505), " Madonna Tempi" (1508), " Madonna of Orleans», « Madonna Column" In each painting on this subject, the artist finds new nuances, artistic fantasies make them completely different, the images acquire greater freedom and movement. The landscapes surrounding the Mother of God are a world of serenity and idyll. This period of the painter, " Madonna artist" - the flowering of his lyrical talent.
The Florentine period of Raphael’s work ends with the monumental painting “ Entombment"(1507) and marks his transition to a monumental-heroic generalized style.
in autumn 1508 Raphael moves to Rome. At that time, at the invitation of Pope Julius II, the best architects, sculptors, and painters from all over Italy came to Rome. Humanist scientists gathered around the papal court. Popes and powerful spiritual and secular rulers collected works of art and patronized science and the arts. In Rome, Raphael becomes a great master of monumental painting.
Pope Julius II commissioned Raphael to decorate the papal chambers in the Vatican Palace, the so-called stanzas (rooms), with paintings. Raphael worked on the frescoes of the Stanza for nine years - from 1508 to 1517. Raphael's frescoes became the embodiment of the humanistic dream of the Renaissance about the spiritual and physical perfection of man, his high calling and his creative possibilities. The themes of the frescoes that form a single cycle are the personification and glorification of Truth (Vero), Good, Good (Bene), Beauty, Beautiful (Bello). At the same time, these are, as it were, three interconnected spheres of human activity - intellectual, moral and aesthetic.
The theme of the fresco " Dispute» (« Dispute"") affirmation of the triumph of the highest truth (the truth of religious revelation), the sacrament. On the opposite wall is the best fresco of the Vatican Stanzas, Raphael’s greatest creation “ Athens school». « Athens school"symbolizes the rational search for truth by philosophy and science. IN " Athens school“The painter depicted a meeting of ancient thinkers and scientists.
Third fresco of Stanza della Segnatura " Parnassus“- the personification of the idea of Bello - Beauty, Beautiful. This fresco depicts Apollo surrounded by muses, inspiredly playing the viol; below are famous and anonymous poets, playwrights, prose writers, most of them ancient (Homer, Sappho, Alcaeus, Virgil, Dante, Petrarch...). Allegorical scene opposite " Parnassus", glorifies (Bene) Good, Good. This idea is personified by the figures of Wisdom, Measure and Strength, rhythmically united by the figures of little geniuses. Three of which symbolize virtues - Faith, Hope, Charity.
Raphael was engaged in monumental painting until the last years of his life. Raphael's surviving drawings clearly reveal the originality of the artist's creative method, the preparation and implementation of the main task of the work. The main goal is to create a holistic and complete composition.
During his years of work in Rome, Raphael received many orders for portraits. The portraits he created are simple, strict in composition; the main, most significant, unique thing in a person’s appearance stands out: “ Portrait of a Cardinal», « Portrait of the writer Baldassare Castiglione"(Raphael's friend)…
And in Raphael’s easel painting the plot with the Madonna remains a constant theme: “ Madonna Alba" (1509), " Madonna in a chair"(1514-1515), altar paintings - " Madonna di Foligno"(1511-1512), " St. Cecilia"(1514).
The greatest creation of easel painting by Raphael " Sistine Madonna"(1513-1514). The royally majestic human intercessor descends to earth. The Madonna hugs little Christ to her, but her hugs are multi-meaning: they contain both love and parting - she gives him to people for suffering and torment. Madonna moves and is still. She remains in her sublime ideal world and goes to the earthly world. Mary forever brings her son to people - the embodiment, a symbol of the highest humanity, beauty and greatness of sacrificial maternal love. Raphael created an image of the Mother of God that is understandable to everyone.
The last years of Raphael's life were devoted to various areas of activity. IN 1514 In the year he was appointed to supervise the construction of St. Peter's Basilica. He supervised the progress of all construction and renovation work in the Vatican. He created architectural designs for the Church of Sant'Eliggio degli Orefici (1509), Palazzo Pandolfini in Florence, and Villa Madama.
IN 1515-1516 years, together with his students, he created cardboards for carpets intended for decoration in holidays Sistine Chapel.
The last work is “ Transfiguration"(1518-1520) - performed with significant participation of students and was completed by them after the death of the master.
Raphael's painting reflected the style, aesthetics and worldview of the era, the era of the High Renaissance. Raphael was born to express the ideals of the Renaissance, the dream of a beautiful person and a beautiful world.
Raphael died at the age of 37 April 6, 1520. The great artist was buried with full honors in the Pantheon. Raphael remained the pride of Italy and all humanity for centuries.
(1483-1520) is one of the brightest geniuses. He experienced a difficult childhood, losing his mother and father at an early age. However, then fate, without stint, gave him everything. what he wanted was numerous orders, enormous success and great fame, wealth and honor, universal love, including the love of women. Admiring admirers called him “divine.” However, it has long been noted that fate is capricious and unpredictable. From whom she showers gifts too generously, she may suddenly turn away. This is exactly what happened to Raphael: in the prime of life and creativity, he unexpectedly died.
Raphael was an architect and painter. Following Bramante, he participated in the design and construction of the Cathedral of St. Peter, built the Chigi Chapel of the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome. However, it brought him unprecedented fame painting.
Unlike Leonardo, Raphael was completely of his time. There is nothing strange, mysterious or enigmatic in his works. Everything in them is clear and transparent, everything is beautiful and perfect. He most powerfully embodied the positive ideal wonderful person. A life-affirming principle reigns in his work.
The main theme of his work was the theme of Madonna, which he found an unsurpassed, ideal embodiment. It was to her that Raphael dedicated one of his early works - “Madonna Conestabile”, where Madonna is depicted with a book being leafed through by a baby. Already in this painting the important artistic principles of the great artist were clearly manifested. The Madonna is devoid of holiness, she expresses not only mother's love, but embodies the ideal of a beautiful person. Everything in the picture is marked by perfection: the composition. colors, figures, landscape.
This painting was followed by a whole series of variations on the same theme - “Madonna with the Goldfinch”, “The Beautiful Gardener”. “Madonna among the greenery”, “Madonna with beardless Joseph”, “Madonna under the canopy”. A. Benois defined these variations as “charming picturesque sonnets.” All of them elevate and idealize a person, glorify beauty, harmony and grace.
After a short break, when Raphael was busy with fresco paintings, he again returned to the theme of the Madonna. In some of her images, he seems to vary previously found models. These, in particular, are “Madonna Alba” and “Madonna in an Armchair”, the composition of which is subordinated to a round frame. At the same time, he creates new types of images of Madonna.
The pinnacle in the development of the theme of the Mother of God was “ Sistine Madonna" which has become a real hymn to the physical and spiritual perfection of man. Unlike all other Madonnas, the Sistine expresses an inexhaustible human meaning. It combines the earthly and the heavenly, the simple and the sublime, the close and the inaccessible. On her face you can read all human feelings: tenderness, timidity, anxiety, confidence, severity, dignity, greatness.
Chief among them, according to Winckelmann, are “noble simplicity and calm grandeur.” Measure, balance and harmony reign in the picture. It is distinguished by smooth and rounded lines, soft and melodic patterns, richness and richness of color. Madonna herself radiates energy and movement. With this work Raphael created the most sublime and poetic image Madonnas in the art of the Renaissance.
Among the outstanding works of Raphael are the paintings of the personal papal chambers (stanzas) in the Vatican, dedicated to biblical stories, as well as philosophy, art and law.
The fresco "School of Athens" depicts a meeting of philosophers and scientists of Antiquity. In its center are the majestic figures of Plato and Aristotle, and on either side are ancient sages and scientists.
The fresco "Parnassus" represents Apollo and the Muses surrounded by the great poets of antiquity and the Italian Renaissance. All paintings are marked by the highest mastery of composition, bright decorativeness, and naturalness of the characters’ poses and gestures.
When they want to say that a man remained a man until his last moment, they say the phrase: “He died like Raphael.”
Rafael Santi and Margarita Luti
The most famous painting by the great Raphael Santi (1483–1520) depicts the image of a young and very beautiful woman with huge black almond-shaped eyes. The prototype of the “Sistine Madonna” was Margarita Luti - the strongest and most desperate love of a beautiful genius...
(1483-1520) - one of the three greatest artists of the Renaissance. Rafael Santi was born on April 6, 1483 in the family of the court poet and painter of the Dukes of Urbino Giovanni Santi. The boy received his first drawing lessons from his father, but Giovanni died early. Rafael was eleven years old at the time. His mother died earlier, and the boy was left in the care of his uncles - Bartholomew and Simon Charl. For another five years, Raphael studied under the supervision of the new court painter of the Dukes of Urbino, Timoteo Viti, who passed on to him all the traditions of the Umbrian school of painting. Then, in 1500, the young man moved to Perugia and began studying with one of the most famous artists of the High Renaissance, Perugino. The early period of Raphael’s work is called “Peruginian”. At the age of twenty, the painting genius wrote the famous “Madonna Conestabile.” And between 1503 and 1504, by order of the Albizzini family, the artist created the altar image “The Betrothal of Mary” for the Church of San Francesco in the small town of Città di Castello who completed the early period of his work. The great Raphael appeared to the world, whose masterpieces the whole world has been worshiping for centuries.
In 1504, the young man moved to Florence, where the entire Perugino workshop had moved the year before. Here he created a number of delightful paintings with “Madonnas”. Impressed by these masterpieces, in 1508 Pope Julius II (reigned 1503–1513) invited the artist to Rome to paint the state apartments in the old Vatican Palace.
Thus began a new stage in the life and work of Raphael - the stage of glory and universal admiration. This was the time of popes-philanthropists, when in the world of the Vatican curia reigned, on the one hand, the greatest depravity and mockery of everything honest and virtuous, and on the other hand, veneration d art. The Vatican to this day has not been able to completely cleanse itself of the stains of atrocities committed by philanthropic popes under the cover of the papal tiara, and philosophers and art critics have found themselves unable to understand why it was precisely in an era of blatant depravity, in the very epicenter of depravity, that fine art, architecture and literature rose to unattainable heights.
After the death of the depraved old man Julius II, the papal throne was occupied by the even more depraved Leo X (ruled 1513–1521). At the same time, he had an excellent understanding of art and was one of the most famous patrons of poets, artists and artists in history. The pope was especially pleased with Raphael, who he inherited from his predecessor, who painted buildings and palaces and painted amazing paintings.
Researchers of Raphael's life still cannot understand how this courteous handsome man with a languid face, long eyelashes and black curly hair was able to remain true to his masculine nature and did not become the lover of one of his teachers or rich patrons. On the contrary, it was the patrons who made sure that there were always women next to Raphael - otherwise he simply refused to work. The Roman banker Bindo Altovidi, whose portrait Raphael agreed to paint, turned his palace into an elegant Roman brothel for six months while the artist was working on the painting. Numerous courtesans walked around the garden, bathed in fountains, reclined on velvet sofas - all so that Raphael, who put his brush down for half an hour, could immediately receive pleasure. He was the lover of Donna Atalanta Baglioni, who commissioned him to paint the chapel in the Church of San Francesco in Perugia. The almighty Cardinal Bibbiena dreamed of marrying his niece Maria Dovizzi to Raphael. The noble Roman matron Andrea Mosinho sat for hours at the door of Raphael's workshop, waiting for him to stop working so she could embrace him in her arms. This continued until 1513, when he accidentally met the 17-year-old commoner Margarita Luti.
In 1514, Pope Leo X appointed Raphael as chief architect of St. Peter's Basilica. The banker Agostino Chigi, who competed with the pope in his love of art, as soon as he learned that the famous artist was in Rome, immediately invited him to paint the main gallery of his Farnesino palace on the banks of the Tiber. Raphael could not settle in the Vatican, so the banker gave him luxurious apartments in his palace, overlooking a beautiful park, and did not skimp on expenses.
The artist decorated the walls with the famous frescoes “The Three Graces” and “Galatea”, but was forced to interrupt the work because he could not find a model for “Cupid and Psyche”. One day, while walking through the park, accompanied by his student Francesco Penni, he found himself on the banks of the Tiber, where he saw a girl of amazing beauty. The stranger, as beautiful as Madonna, was 17-18 years old. She stood leaning against a tree, bathed in the rays of the bright midday sun breaking through the foliage. The delighted Rafael learned that the girl's name was Margarita Luti, that she was the daughter of a baker and lived nearby.
The girl had long dreamed of taking a walk through the wonderful Farnesino Park. Rafael volunteered to accompany her. “I finally found Psyche!..” he whispered to Penny along the way.
After the walk, the artist brought Margarita to the studio. The baker's beautiful daughter looked at the sketches and sketches with curiosity, sincerely admiring the maestro's art. Margarita agreed to Raphael’s proposal to paint her portrait, but she had to secure the consent of her father and groom.
The mention of the groom confused the artist a little, however, the beauty hastened to note that she was not marrying for love, but only because at the age of 17 it was simply a shame to remain a girl. And her fiancé is just a shepherd in Albano, the possession of Agostino Chiga.
Raphael said that Margarita, with her wonderful eyes, wondrous mouth and magnificent hair, should at least belong to a prince of the blood. In gratitude for the visit, the artist offered Margarita an excellent gold necklace, which he had bought the day before for the courtesan Andrea, but the girl refused to accept the expensive gift. Then Raphael offered to buy her a necklace for just ten kisses. Margarita looked at the seller. Rafael was thirty-one years old, he was a very attractive man... And the purchase took place, not for ten, but for a hundred, for a thousand kisses! Breaking free from the embrace, Margarita, running away, shouted that if Rafael wanted to meet her tomorrow, he should talk to his father.
Raphael followed the girl into Luti's bakery and, after paying 50 gold coins, received his father's consent to paint as many portraits of his daughter as he wanted. The flexible parent, in addition, promised to explain things to his future son-in-law, a shepherd.
Raphael did not sleep the whole night, passionately in love with the beautiful Fornarina (forno - oven, fornaj - baker). At that time, the baker’s daughter was sorting out her relationship with her fiancé, Tomaso Cinelli, who had been caressing his future wife at night for a month. The shepherd immediately noticed the jewel, which the bride did not even think to remove from her neck. Tomaso reproached her for treason. Does she really want to become like Raphael’s courtesans? The girl, having flared up, replied that she was ready to become anyone in order to have mountains of gold and get rid of the wild scenes that she was forced to endure as an honest woman. The shepherd came to his senses and rushed to beg for forgiveness. Margarita forgave him, making him promise to come to her only by invitation. Tomaso demanded that Margarita solemnly vow today in church to marry him. At dawn, Tomaso and Margarita were in the church, where the girl took an oath of fidelity to the groom, and a few days later she made the same oath to Raphael.
This girl was destined to become the first and only love the great Raphael. He had been spoiled by women, but now his heart belonged to Fornarina.
Raphael was probably misled by the angelic expression of the baker's daughter's lovely face. How many times, blinded by love, he portrayed this charming head! Beginning in 1514, he painted not only her portraits, these masterpieces of masterpieces, but thanks to her he also created images of Madonnas and saints who would be worshiped!
At the first session, Margarita posed for Psyche, who later decorated the Villa Farnesino. “Oh, how beautiful you are!..” - the maestro repeated with each stroke of the pencil. That same night he visited Fornarina in her closet. For five hours, until dawn, Francesco Penni patiently waited for the teacher. Finally, he returned enthusiastic, excited, ready to give everything to the baker, if only Margarita belonged to him alone. To the student’s timid hint about the danger that immoderate love carries, the artist replied: “An artist becomes more talented when he loves so much or is loved so much!.. Love doubles genius!.. You will see what kind of pictures I will paint from Margarita!.. Heaven itself sent it to me!”
For 3,000 gold pieces, the baker allowed the artist to take Margarita anywhere. Raphael found a beautiful villa for his mistress in one of the Roman suburbs, bought her expensive clothes and showered her with jewelry. She got horses and carriages. At least a hundred guests gathered in her living room every day. During the year, the lovers almost never parted. Rafael did not want to see anyone, did not go out anywhere, neglecting his work and classes with his students. Pope Leo X began to express dissatisfaction, and Agostino Chigi, upset by the interruption in work on decorating the palace, offered to transport the girl to Farnesino. Margarita immediately agreed to move, hoping to take refuge in the palace from the revenge of her fiancé Tomaso, who sent her angry letters. She hoped to acquire patronage from Agostino Chiga, the shepherd's master.
Raphael, delighted that he had the fortunate opportunity to combine love with art, eagerly set to work, sometimes leaving his beloved alone with his thoughts for days on end. And if only with thoughts...
And for almost 7 years - until the end of his life - Rafael remained her slave. He idolized Fornarina - this is confirmed by the faces of the “Sistine Madonna”, “Donna Velata”, “Madonna in the Chair”, and other works for which Margarita served as a model. On Raphael’s canvases she glows with serene heavenly beauty. And this is the look of Raphael, who adored her. But it is also worth looking at the portraits of Fornarina, made by Raphael’s students - Giulio Romano or Sebastiano del Piombo. They depict a more than ordinary woman - cunning and greedy. This is what the look of an artist in love means! Rafael did not notice that Margarita was cheating on him with his friends, acquaintances, patrons, even with his students. The insidious and calculating Fornarina was interested mainly in the money of her unexpected patron. She constantly exhausted the artist, remained unsatisfied and demanded more every day. The young creature had little affection and admiration. She demanded not only new riches, but also wanted Raphael not to leave her side for a moment and indulge in love only in her company. And the artist dutifully complied with these whims, literally burning in the arms of an insatiable lover.
One day Fornarina received another threatening letter from her fiancé. And at that moment she was informed about the visit of Agostino Chiga. The girl quickly unbuttoned the hood collar, revealing her luxurious shoulders. The banker immediately wrapped his arms around her flexible body and kissed her deeply, after which he began to swear his love, begging for reciprocity. Fornarina demanded evidence... That same evening, the shepherd Tomaso was taken to the monastery of Santo Cosimo, the abbot of which, Chiga's cousin, promised to hold the shepherd for a symbolic reward until he received orders to release him.
In 1518, Raphael accepted the young Bolognese Carlo Tirabocchi as his student. Soon everyone except the maestro knew about his love affair with Margarita. The students broke off all relations with Tirabocchi, considering that he had committed a heinous offense. It came to a duel, in which the Bolognese fell, struck by a blow from Perino del Vaga's sword. The true reason for the fight was hidden from Rafael, and Fornarina found another admirer.
Rafael tried to close his eyes to the many romances of his beloved, remained silent when she came only in the morning, as if he did not know that “his little Fornarina” was his beauty I am a Baker and have become one of the most famous courtesans in Rome. And only the silent creations of his brush knew what torment tormented the heart of their creator. Rafael suffered so much from the current situation that sometimes he couldn’t even get out of bed in the morning.
The thirst for love, the thirst for hot kisses and hugs of the courtesan, who never refused his caresses, soon undermined his health. genius artist
Recently, the Italian press published research by art critic Donato Bergamino, who tried to explain Raphael’s reckless and all-consuming love for Margarita. And why did she cheat on him?
Rafael's attitude towards Margarita Luti is a typical example of love addiction. Much later it would be called Adele syndrome, named after Hugo’s daughter, who literally pursued an English officer with her love. Not daring to refuse him anything, she supplied him with prostitutes and patiently waited in the next room for her lover to finish his love session. Raphael also suffered from Adele syndrome. Fornarina had another disease - nymphomania. The famous Messalina, the Russian Empress Catherine the Great, the French Queen Margot suffered from it... Fornarina is among them. Rafael, who never suffered from a lack of testosterone, still could not fully satisfy Margarita. He once admitted: “It is not blood that flows in the veins of my beloved, but hot lava.” The love marathon, which he and Fornarina could last for many hours, exhausted the artist. Because of these amorous exploits, his health was completely exhausted. He went to the doctors and was diagnosed with severe depletion of the body. The artist was bled, but it only made the master worse. The exhausted heart of the genius stopped on April 6, 1520, on the day of his birth. He was only 37 years old!
So if the expression “died of love” is applicable to anyone, it is Raphael.
He was buried in the Church of St. Sixtus, under the same “Sistine Madonna”, for which, two centuries later, they would pay almost 100 kg of gold and take him to Germany. But Margarita was not allowed to attend the funeral service - no one believed that she had long been the secretly married wife of a genius. Raphael was buried in the Pantheon, where the remains of the greatest people of Italy rest.
The artist’s students blamed the unfaithful Margarita for the death of their teacher and vowed to take revenge because through a series of countless betrayals she broke the heart of a great man.
Frightened Margarita ran to her father, in whose house she had been hiding for some time. Here she once came face to face with her ex-fiancé Tomaso, who, by her grace, spent five years in monastic confinement. Margarita found nothing better than to try to seduce him, and bared her lush shoulders in front of the shepherd. He grabbed a handful of earth, threw it in the face of his ex-fiancee and left, never to see the woman who had ruined his life again.
The inheritance left by Rafael would be enough for the frivolous Fornarina to change her life and become a decent woman. But, having felt the taste of carnal love and a carefree life, having gotten to know the most famous men of Rome, she did not want to change anything. Until the end of her days, Margarita Luti remained a courtesan. She died in the monastery, but the cause of her death is unknown.
Raphael's picturesque creations decorate the most famous museums in the world. Moreover, thanks to them, in particular, these museums became famous. Millions of people every year freeze in admiration before the image of the “Sistine Madonna,” which has long become the main treasure of the Dresden Gallery. They look with tenderness at the beautiful, unearthly woman holding out a trusting baby from heaven to them... But few people know that the earthly flesh of the woman depicted in the picture where she belonged to the most voluptuous and dissolute courtesan of Italy - the one who destroyed a genius in the prime of his powers and talent.
However, in the literature there is also another version of the events described. Raphael fell in love with the depraved Roman maiden from the very beginning, he knew her value very well, but in the immoral atmosphere of the court of patrons of the arts, he was not embarrassed to use her for as a model when painting the faces of the Mother of God. .
