Rafael santi years of life. School Encyclopedia

Raphael Santi - Italian painter, graphic artist and architect, representative of the Umbrian school.

In 1500 he moved to Perugia and entered the workshop of Perugino to study painting. At the same time, Rafael completed the first independent works: the skills and abilities adopted from his father affected. The most successful of his early works are the Conestabile Madonna (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 on creating the image of the Madonna, to whom he dedicated at least ten works (“Madonna with a Goldfinch”, 1506-1507; “The 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 is now occupied by the paintings of the front chambers (stations) of the Vatican Palace.

In Rome, Raphael reached 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 the study and protection ancient monuments and supervision of excavations.

Rafael Santi (Italian: Raffaello Santi, Raffaello Sanzio, Rafael, Raffael da Urbino, Rafaelo; March 26 or 28, or April 6, 1483, Urbino - April 6, 1520, Rome) was a great Italian painter, graphic artist and architect, a representative of the Umbrian school.

Raphael lost his parents early. Mother, Margie Charla, died in 1491, and father, Giovanni Santi, died in 1494.
His father was an artist and poet at the court of the Duke of Urbinsky, and Rafael received his first experience as an artist in his father's workshop. The earliest work is the Madonna and Child fresco, which is still in the house-museum.

Among the first works are "The banner with the image of the Holy Trinity" (circa 1499-1500) and the altarpiece "Coronation of St. Nicholas of Tolentino" (1500-1501) for the church of Sant'Agostino in Citta di Castello.

In 1501, Raphael comes to the workshop of Pietro Perugino in Perugia, so early work made in the style of Perugino.

At this time, he often leaves Perugia for home in Urbino, in Citta di Castello, together with Pinturicchio visits Siena, performs a number of works on orders from Citta di Castello and Perugia.

In 1502, the first Raphael Madonna appears - “Madonna Solly”, Madonna Raphael will write all his life.

The first non-religious paintings are The Knight's Dream and The Three Graces (both around 1504).

Gradually, Raphael develops his own style and creates the first masterpieces - "The Betrothal of the Virgin Mary to Joseph" (1504), "The Coronation of Mary" (about 1504) for the Oddi altar.

In addition to large altar paintings, he writes small paintings: "Madonna Conestabile" (1502-1504), "Saint George slaying the dragon" (circa 1504-1505) and portraits - "Portrait of Pietro Bembo" (1504-1506).

In 1504, in Urbino, he met Baldassar Castiglione.

At the end of 1504 he moved to Florence. Here he met Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Bartolomeo della Porta and many other Florentine masters. Carefully studies the painting technique of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo. A drawing by Raphael from the lost painting by Leonardo da Vinci "Leda and the Swan" and a drawing from "St. Matthew" Michelangelo. "... the techniques that he saw in the works of Leonardo and Michelangelo made him work even harder in order to derive unprecedented benefits from them for his art and his manner."

The first order in Florence comes from Agnolo Doni for portraits of him and his wife, the latter was written by Raphael under the clear impression of the Mona Lisa. It was for Agnolo Doni that Michelangelo Buonarroti created the Madonna Doni tondo at that time.

Raphael paints the altarpieces "Madonna Enthroned with John the Baptist and Nicholas of Bari" (circa 1505), "The Entombment" (1507) and portraits - "Lady with a Unicorn" (circa 1506-1507).

In 1507 he met Bramante.

Raphael's popularity is constantly growing, he receives many orders for the images of saints - " holy family from St. Elizabeth and John the Baptist" (circa 1506-1507). "Holy Family (Madonna with a beardless Joseph)" (1505-1507), "St. Catherine of Alexandria" (circa 1507-1508).

In Florence, Raphael created about 20 Madonnas. Although the plots are standard: the Madonna either holds the Child in her arms, or he plays next to John the Baptist, all Madonnas are individual and are distinguished by a special maternal charm (apparently, early death mother left a deep mark on the soul of Raphael).

The growing fame of Raphael leads to an increase in orders for Madonnas, he creates the Granduk Madonna (1505), the Madonna with Carnations (circa 1506), the Canopied Madonna (1506-1508). TO the best works This period includes "Madonna Terranuova" (1504-1505), "Madonna with a goldfinch" (1506), "Madonna and Child with John the Baptist („ beautiful gardener")" (1507-1508).

In the second half of 1508, Raphael moved to Rome (where he would spend the rest of his life) and, with the assistance of Bramante, became the official artist of the papal court. He was commissioned to fresco the Stanza della Senyatura. For this stanza, Raphael paints frescoes reflecting four types of human intellectual activity: theology, jurisprudence, poetry and philosophy - "Disputation" (1508-1509), "Wisdom, Moderation and Strength" (1511), and the most outstanding "Parnassus" (1509 -1510) and the "School of Athens" (1510-1511).

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Raphael Santi is a man with an incredible destiny, the most secret and beautiful painter of the Renaissance. The rulers of Italy envied the talent and mind of the brilliant painter, the representatives of the weaker sex adored him for his cheerful disposition and angelic attractiveness, and for his kindness and generosity, friends called the artist the messenger of paradise. However, the Contemporaries did not suspect that the generous Raphael was afraid until the end of his days that his mind would fall into the abyss of madness.

History always has a beginning and a continuation. So on April 6, 1483, in the small town of the Kingdom of Italy of Urbino, in the house of the court painter of the Dukes of Urbino and the poet Giovanni Santi, the great Rafael Santi.

Giovanni Santi headed the most famous art workshop in Urbino. The tragedy in which he lost his beloved wife and mother happened at night in his house. While the artist was in Rome, where he painted a portrait of Pope John II, his brother Niccolo, in a fit of insanity, killed his elderly mother and seriously wounded the pregnant Maggia, the artist's wife. The guards who arrived at the scene of the crime arrested the criminal, but he managed to escape. Seized with insane fear, Niccolò threw himself from the bridge into the icy river. The soldiers stood on the shore and tried to fish out the body, when the Maggia Santi had already given birth to a baby and died from her wounds. Giovanni learned about the trouble from traveling merchants. He dropped everything and hurried home. But, friends and neighbors have already christened the boy Raphael buried his wife and mother.

The childhood of the great artist was very happy and carefree. Giovanni Santi, having experienced a terrible tragedy, put all his strength into Raphael, protecting him from worries and troubles real world, warned possible mistakes and corrected already committed. Rafael from childhood was engaged only with the best teachers, the father laid on him big hopes, instilling a taste for painting. The first toys Raphael there were paints and brushes from my father's workshop. And at the age of seven Rafael Santi he expressed his gifted magical fantasies in the workshop of the court painter - in the workshop of his father. Soon Giovanni remarried Bernardine Parte, the daughter of a goldsmith. From the second marriage, a daughter, Elisabetta, was born.

Every day the boy brought more and more joy. Giovanni watched how his son thinks and acts in his imaginary world, and how these weak and still clumsy hands express everything on the canvas. He understood that talent and supernatural abilities Raphael much more worthy of his own, so he gave the boy to study with his friend, the artist Timoteo Viti.

During ten years of study Raphael For the first time, he departed from the canons of the classical Italian portrait of the Renaissance and mastered that unique play of colors and colors, which today is a mystery to artists and art historians around the world.

In 1494, his father died of a heart attack. little genius, and by decision of the city magistrate, the boy remained in the care of the family of the merchant Bartholomew fries. He was younger brother artist Giovanni, and unlike the crazy Niccolo, he was sociable, had a caring, cheerful and kind disposition, did not remain indifferent and was always ready to help those who needed it. This good-natured merchant adored his nephew - an orphan and did not spare money for his training in painting.

Already at the age of seventeen, he easily created bright talented works that still delight his contemporaries. In November 1500, a seventeen-year-old youth left his small provincial town of Urbino and moved to the bustling port city of Perugio. There he entered the studio of the famous painter Pietro Vanucci, known as Perugino. After looking at the first examination papers of his new student, the gray-haired maestro exclaimed: “Today is a joyful day for me, because I discovered a genius for the world!”

During the Renaissance, Perugino's workshop was creative laboratory in which brilliant personalities were brought up. The deep lyricism of Perugino, his tenderness, calmness and softness found an echo in the soul Raphael. Rafael is receptive. He quickly learns the painting style of his teacher, studies the work on frescoes under his guidance, gets acquainted with the technique and figurative system monumental painting.

For some time, Rafael was still under the powerful influence of Perugino. Only timidly, like an instantaneous splash, suddenly there is an unexpected compositional solution, unusual for Perugino. Suddenly, the colors on the canvases begin to sound peculiar. And, despite the fact that his masterpieces of this period are imitative, one cannot step aside and not realize what their immortal master was doing. First of all, it is "", "", "". All this completes the created monumental canvas "" in the city of Civita - Castellane.

It's like his last bow to the teacher. Raphael goes into a big life.

In 1504 he arrived in Florence, where the center of Italian art was concentrated, where the High Renaissance was born and rose.

The first thing the young man saw Raphael, having set foot on the land of Florence, was a majestic statue of the biblical hero David in Piazza della Signoria. This sculpture by Michelangelo could not but stun Raphael, could not but leave an imprint in his impressionable imagination.

At this time, the great Leonardo also worked in Florence. Just then, all of Florence, with bated breath, watched the duel of the titans - Leonardo and Michelangelo. They worked on battle compositions for the Council Hall of the Signoria Palace. The painting by Leonardo was supposed to depict the battle of the Florentines with the Milanese at Anghiari in 1440. And Michelangelo painted the battle of the Florentines with the Pisans in 1364.

As early as 1505, the Florentines had the opportunity to evaluate both cardboards exhibited together.

Poetic, majestic Leonardo and rebellious, with a dazzling passion for painting Michelangelo! A real titanic battle of the elements. young Raphael you need to get out of the fire of this battle not scorched, remaining yourself.

In Florence, Raphael masters all the amount of knowledge that an artist needs to rise to the level of these titans.

He studies anatomy, perspective, mathematics, geometry. More and more clearly comes through his search for beauty in Man, his worship of Man, he develops the handwriting of a muralist, his skill becomes virtuoso.

In four years, he turned from a timid provincial painter into a real master, confidently owning all the secrets of the school he needed to work.

In 1508, twenty-five years old Santi comes at the invitation of Pope Julius II to Rome. He is entrusted with painting in the Vatican. First of all, it was necessary to make frescoes in the Hall of the Signature, which Julius II assigned to the library and study. The paintings were supposed to reflect various aspects of human spiritual activity - in science, philosophy, theology, art.

Here he is before us not only a painter, but an artist-philosopher who dared to rise to enormous generalizations.

Signature Hall - Stanza della Senyatura - reunited the ideas of the era about the power of the human mind, the power of poetry, the rule of law, and humanity. In live scenes, the artist pushed philosophical ideas.

In historical - allegorical groups Santi revives the images of Plato, Aristotle, Diogenes, Socrates, Euclid, Ptolemy. Monumental works required from the master the knowledge of the most complex painting technique - frescoes, mathematical calculations and a steel hand. It was truly a titanic work!

In their stations (rooms) Raphael managed to find an unprecedented synthesis of painting and architecture. The fact is that the interiors of the Vatican were very complex in design. The artist faced almost impossible compositional problems. But Santi came out of this test as a winner.

The stanzas are masterpieces not only in terms of the plastic solution of the figures, the characteristics of the images, and the coloring. In these frescoes, the viewer is struck by the grandeur of the architectural ensembles created by the painter's brush, created by his dream of beauty.

In one of the frescoes of the Signature Hall, among the philosophers and enlighteners, as if a participant in this high dispute, there is himself Rafael Santi. A thoughtful young man is looking at us. Big, beautiful eyes, deep look. He saw everything: both joy and sorrow - and better than others felt the Beauty that he left to people.

Raphael was the greatest portrait painter of all times and peoples. Images of his contemporaries Pope Julius II, Baltasar Castiglione, portraits of cardinals draw us proud, wise and strong-willed people of the Renaissance. The plasticity, coloring, sharpness of the characteristics of the images on these canvases are amazing.

In general, during his short thirty-seven-year life, the master created many unsurpassed, unique paintings. But still, the most important are the inspired Madonnas, who are distinguished by a special mysterious beauty. Beauty, Kindness, and Truth are intertwined in them.

Painting " Holy family. Madonna with beardless Joseph” or “”, written at the age of twenty-three, is a kind of creative “exercise” of the artist, who solved the problem of building a composition that is ideally coordinated in all its parts.

Its center is indicated by the figure of the Child. Highlighted by a beam of light directed directly at her, she, the brightest spot in the picture, immediately attracts the viewer's attention. Truly remarkable is the perseverance and determination with which Santi consistently achieves the impression of an internal relationship between the characters and their spatial environment. The baby sits on Mary's lap, but his eyes are turned towards Joseph - the usual for Raphael a compositional technique, with the help of which it is possible to strengthen the connection with each other of the figures located next to each other, not only visually, but also emotionally. Purely painting techniques work for the same purpose. So, the smooth parabolic lines outlined in the outlines of the sleeve of the Virgin Mary find an echo both in the outline of the figure of the Infant and in the movement of the folds of Joseph's cloak.

Madonna and Child - one of the leitmotifs in art Raphael: in just four years in Florence, he wrote at least a dozen paintings varying this plot. The Mother of God sometimes sits with the Child in her arms, sometimes plays with him or just thinks about something, looking at her son. Sometimes little John the Baptist is added to them.

So, "", written by him in 1512 - 1513, received the highest recognition. The mother holds the child in her arms and carries it to us, to our world. The Holy Mystery has come to pass - a man has been born. Now he has life in front of him. gospel story- this is only a pretext for a solution through a complex allegory of an eternal idea. Life for a human being entering into it is not only joy, but also searches, falls, ups and downs, sufferings.

A woman carries her son into a cold and terrible world full of achievements and joy. She is a mother, she anticipates the fate of her son, everything that is destined for him. She sees his future, therefore, in her eyes - horror, horror of the inevitable, and sorrow, and fear for her baby.

And yet she does not stop at the earthly threshold, she crosses it.

The face of the Child is most striking. Looking into the eyes of the Infant, unusually bright, brilliant, almost frightening the viewer, the impression is not only formidable, but something wild and "obsessed" with a meaningful look. This is God, and, like God, he is also initiated into the secret of his future, he also knows what awaits him in this world into which the curtain has opened. He clung to his mother, but does not seek protection from her, but, as it were, says goodbye to her, as soon as he enters this world and accepts the whole burden of trials.

Weightless flight of the Madonna. But another moment - and she will set foot on the ground. She gives people the most precious thing - her son, a new person. Accept him, people, he is ready to accept deathly torments for you. This is the main idea that the artist expressed in painting.

It is this idea that awakens good feelings in the viewer, connects Santi with the first names, elevates him as an artist to an unattainable height.

In the middle of the 18th century, the Benedictines sold " Sistine Madonna» Elector Friedrich - August II, in 1754 she was in the collection of the Dresden National Gallery. " Sistine Madonna"became the object of worship of all mankind. It began to be called the most Great and Immortal picture of the world.

The image of pure beauty can be seen in the portrait "". "" was painted by the artist during his stay in Florence. The image he created of the young beautiful girl full of charm and virgin purity. This impression is also associated with a mysterious animal, peacefully lying on her knees - a unicorn, a symbol of purity, female purity and chastity.

For a long time " lady with unicorn"Ascribed to Perugino, then to Titian. It was only in the 1930s that the authorship of Raphael was discovered and confirmed. It turned out that initially the artist depicted a lady with a dog, then a mythical creature, a unicorn, appeared on her knees.

Beautiful stranger pictured Raphael, seems to be a "deity", "shrine". She is in infinite harmony with the world that surrounds her.

This job Raphael as if a kind of dialogue of the genius of the Renaissance with Leonardo da Vinci, who had just created his famous " Mona Lisa”, which managed to make a deep impression on the young artist.

Using Leonardo's lessons, the Madonna Master follows the teacher. He places his model in space on the balcony and against the background of the landscape, dividing the plane into different zones. The portrait of the depicted model conducts a dialogue with the viewer, creating a new imagery and revealing her other, not ordinary, inner world.

The coloristic decision in the portrait also plays a huge role. A colorful and vibrant palette, built on a gradation of light and pure colors, gives the landscape a clear transparency, imperceptibly shrouded in a light misty haze. All this further emphasizes the integrity and purity of the landscape against its background of the image of a lady.

Fresco with tempera paints on wood Transfiguration”, which Raphael began to paint in 1518 by order of Cardinal Giulio Medici for the Cathedral of Narbonne, can be perceived as an artistic commandment of the artist.

The canvas is divided into two parts. At the top is the plot of the Transfiguration. The Savior with outstretched hands, in flowing righteous clothes, hovers against the backdrop of a haze illuminated by the brilliance of His own radiance. On both sides of Him, also hovering in the air, Moses and Elijah are the elders; the first, as already noted, with the tablets in his hands. At the top of the mountain different poses the blinded Apostles lie: they cover their faces with their hands, unable to endure the light emanating from Christ. To the left on the mountain are two outside witnesses of the miracle of the Transfiguration, one of them has a rosary. Their presence does not find justification in the gospel story and was apparently dictated by some considerations of the artist unknown to us now.

There is no feeling of miracle and grace of Tabor light in the picture. But there is a feeling of emotional oversaturation of people, which overlaps the miraculous phenomenon itself.

In the lower half of the picture at the foot of the mountain Santi depicted two animated groups of people: on the left - the remaining nine Apostles, on the right - a crowd of Jews, in which a kneeling woman and a Jew are visible in the foreground, supporting a possessed boy, whose strong writhing, blurred look and open mouth, reveal his severe mental and physical suffering. The crowd implores the Apostles to heal the demon-possessed. The apostles look at him with amazement, unable to alleviate his plight; some of them point to Christ.

If you look closely at the face of Christ, which Raphael wrote on the eve of his death, and compare it with the "" artist, you can find some similarities.

Rafael Santi- The great Artist with a cheerful and good disposition died unexpectedly on a spring evening, at his thirty-seventh birthday. He left this world full of divine beauty after a short illness on April 6, 1520 in his studio. It seemed that art died along with the Great and Revered Artist. According to the will of Raphael Santi, he was buried among the great people of Italy in the Pantheon.

Rafael Santi short message about Italian artist, a master of graphics and architecture, a representative of the picturesque Umbrian school, you will read in this article.

"Raphael Santi" report

Where was Rafael Santi born?

The future artist was born on April 6, 1483 in the town of Urbino (Italy) in the family of a decorator and artist. The father, noticing his son's ability to paint, began to take him with him to work in the palace. A boy from an early age communicated with famous by Italian masters brushes: Piero della Francesca, Paolo Uccello and Luca Signorelli.

At the age of 8, the boy lost his mother. His father did not remain a widower for a long time and brought new wife to the house. The stepmother did not really like Rafael. After another 4 years, he was left without a father. Santi's trustees send him to Pietro Vannucci to study in Perugia, where he studied until 1504. Thanks to his charm and friendliness, the young man easily met people and made a lot of friends. Soon, his work was practically no different from the paintings of the teacher Vannucci.

Following his mentor, in 1504 he moved to Florence. Here he begins to develop own style writing pictures, Raphael puts all the longing for his mother into them, creating many Madonnas.

Pope Julius II, being impressed by the work of Santi, in 1508 invited him to Rome so that the artist painted the old Vatican Palace. From 1509, he painted the rooms of the palace, putting all his knowledge, skill and talent here. After the death of Julius, Leo X takes the place of the pope, and he appoints the artist as the chief architect of the construction of St. Peter's Basilica. Also in 1514, he became the custodian of valuables: his duties included the census and the protection of monuments. ancient rome. During his life, Rafael Santi also made such architectural works - the Chigi Chapel, the Church of Sant Eligio degli Orefici, the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, the Vidoni Caffarelli Palace, the Branconio del Aquila Palace (now destroyed). New dad he was so afraid that the talented Santi would be lured by the French that he simply loaded him with work and encouraged him with praise and gifts. Therefore, the artist never lacked funds. The house where Rafael Santi lived was truly luxurious and built in antique style according to own project. But it did not work out with his personal life - he was a fan of the beauty of the fair sex, and was in no hurry to tie the knot. But a miracle happened! The artist met the daughter of a baker, 19-year-old Margarita Luti. Her father, for 50 gold pieces, allowed his daughter to pose for Raphael for the painting "Cupid and Psyche", and for another 3,000 gold pieces he allowed him to take Margarita with him. For 6 years, the lovers lived together. The girl never ceased to inspire the genius for new masterpieces: he created a whole cycle of Madonnas in her honor.

What did Rafael Santi die from?

The great artist died on April 6, 1520. And the causes of his death left many mysteries. It is not clear why he caught a cold. Doctors, instead of supporting his strength, made Santi bloodletting. This action killed him. By the way, Margarita Luti was assigned life maintenance, and the artist's house was transferred to her maintenance.

Rafael Santi famous paintings - "The Betrothal of the Virgin Mary", "Madonna Conestabile", "The Knight's Dream", "Three Graces", a copy of the painting by Leonardo da Vinci "Leda and the Swan", "The Entombment", "Cupid and Psyche", " Sistine Madonna”,“ Donna Velata ”,“ Fornarina ”

All Raphael's paintings are a vivid reflection of his subtle nature. WITH early years he was endowed with a hardened industriousness and a desire for spiritual and pure beauty. Therefore, in his works he tirelessly conveyed the bewitching forms of lofty ideas. Perhaps that is why under the brush of the master such a huge number of works were born that convey the perfection of the surrounding world and its ideals. Probably, none of the Renaissance artists so skillfully and deeply enlivened the plots of their paintings. Recall at least a real masterpiece of art of that time " Sistine Madonna". Unshakable and desirable, an image of a unique, wonderful vision appears before the viewer. It seems to descend from the bluish depths of the heavens and envelop those around with its majestic and noble golden radiance. Mary comes down solemnly and boldly, holding her baby in her arms. Such paintings by Raphael are a vivid reflection of his lofty 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 with feminine beauty, graceful grandeur and gentle charm of the heroines. No wonder he, at least two of his works " Three Graces" And " Cupid and 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. Rafael tirelessly drew inspiration from them. Purposefully, he portrayed the goddesses naked in order to bring each viewer closer to the virgin and tender nature. high art. Perhaps that is why the rest of the artist's works vividly display the divine power, sensual beauty, inextricably linked with the ideals of the surrounding world.

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Biography

Epoch High Renaissance in Italy gave the world great artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian. Each of them in his work embodied the spirit and ideals of the era. Cognitive purposefulness was vividly reflected in the work of Leonardo, in the works of Michelangelo - the pathos and drama of the struggle for great perfection, in Titian - a cheerful free-thinking, Raphael sings of the feelings of beauty and harmony.

Rafael (more precisely Raffaello Santi) was born April 6, 1483(according to other sources, March 28, 1483) in the family of the court painter 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 Raphael 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, in which Raphael was born and raised, in the middle of the 15th century was a brilliant artistic center, a hearth humanistic culture Italy. 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 the imagination, dreams, 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 In the year Rafael Santi moved to Perugia to continue his education in the workshop of the largest Umbrian painter, Pietro Perugino (Vannucci). Artistic manner Perugino contemplative and lyrical was close. First artistic compositions were performed by Raphael at the age of 17-19 " Three Graces», « Dream of a knight"and the famous" Madonna Conestabile". The theme of the Madonna is especially close to the lyrical talent of Raphael, and it is no coincidence that she will remain one of the main ones in his work.

The Madonnas of Raphael, as a rule, are depicted against the backdrop of landscapes, their faces breathe calmness and love.

In the Perugine period, the painter creates the first monumental composition for the church - “ Mary's betrothal", which marks new stage in his work. IN 1504 Raphael moved to Florence in the year. He lived in Florence for four years, occasionally traveling to Urbino, Perugia, Bologna. In Florence, the artist joins the artistic ideals of Renaissance art, gets acquainted with the works of antiquity. At the same time, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo worked in Florence, creating cardboard for battle scenes at the Palazzo Vecchiu.

Raphael studies antique art, makes sketches from the works of Donatello, from the compositions of Leonardo and Michelangelo. He draws a lot from life, depicts nude models, achieves the correct transfer of the structure of the body, its movement, plasticity. At the same time he studies the laws of monumental composition.

Raphael's painting style is changing: it finds a stronger expression of plastic, forms - more generalized, compositions - simpler and more rigorous. 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 with babies brought fame and popularity to Raphael: “ Madonna del Granduca"(1505)," Madonna Tempi"(1508)," Orleans Madonna», « 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 canvas " Position in the coffin» (1507) and marks his transition to a monumental-heroic generalized style.

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. Scientists - humanists gathered around the papal court. Popes, powerful spiritual and secular rulers, collected works of art, patronized science and the arts. In Rome, Raphael becomes a great master of monumental painting.

Pope Julius II instructed Raphael to decorate the papal chambers in Vatican Palace, the so-called stanzas (rooms). Rafael worked on the frescoes for nine years - from 1508 to 1517. The frescoes of Raphael became the embodiment of the humanistic dream of rebirth of the spiritual and physical perfection of man, his high calling and his creative possibilities. Themes of the frescoes forming single cycle- this is 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), communion. On the opposite wall is the best fresco of the Vatican stanzas, greatest creation Raphael " Athenian school». « Athenian school” symbolizes the rational search for truth by philosophy and science. IN " the school of Athens » the painter depicted a collection of ancient thinkers and scientists.

The third fresco of Stanza della Senyatura " Parnassus"- the personification of the idea of ​​Bello - Beauty, the Beautiful. This fresco depicts Apollo surrounded by muses, playing the viol with inspiration, below are famous and nameless poets, playwrights, prose writers, mostly 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 the virtues - Faith, Hope, Mercy.

Raphael was engaged in monumental painting before recent years life. The surviving drawings of Raphael clearly reveal the originality creative method artist, preparation and implementation main task works. the main objective is the creation of a complete and complete composition.

During the years of work in Rome, Raphael receives many orders for the execution of portraits. The portraits created by him are simple, strict in composition, the main, the most significant, the unique stands out in the appearance of a person: “ Portrait of a cardinal», « Portrait of the writer Baldassare Castiglione"(friend of Rafael) ...

And in easel painting Raphael, the plot with the Madonna remains the same theme: “ Madonna Alba"(1509)," Madonna in the 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 the little Christ, but her hugs are ambiguous: they contain both love and parting - she gives him to people for suffering and torment. The Madonna moves and is still. She remains in her sublime ideal world and goes to the earthly world. Mary forever bears her son to people - the incarnation, a symbol of the highest humanity, beauty and greatness of the sacrificial maternal love. Raphael created the image of the Mother of God, understandable to everyone.

The last years of Raphael's life were devoted to different areas activities. IN 1514 year he was appointed to supervise the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral, oversaw the progress of all construction and repair work in the Vatican. Created architectural projects Church of Sant Eligio degli Orefici (1509), Palazzo Pandolfini in Florence, 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 - " 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 beautiful person and beautiful world.

Rafael died at the age of 37 April 6, 1520. great artist buried with full honors in the Pantheon. Rafael remained the pride of Italy and all mankind for centuries.