Uffizi_16. Raphael

This is the nephew of the Duke of Urbino - Francesco Maria della Rovere.
It was written by the twenty-two-year-old Raffaello Santi (Sanzio), the son of the court painter of the same duke.
Later, Raffaello will change his name to the Latin way and will be called Raphael. I took a pseudonym, it turns out that it is. Nickname.

"Determination of authorship created difficulties: although this portrait is beautifully drawn, it lacks the physiognomic characteristics typical of Raphael's characters. But the author's close attention to the analytical effects of Flemish art encourages researchers to attribute the "Young Man with an Apple" to Raphael, since his attention in those years was occupied by the Flemish school.
In addition, in the compact forms of this well-thought-out portrait, compositional harmony is clearly visible - the main distinguishing feature of Raphael's art," experts say.

If Rafael wrote this, he was 22 years old.

At the age of eight he was sent to learn a trade in the workshop of Perugino. The mother died that same year. At the age of 11, he lost his father to malaria. At seventeen, he was officially called "Magister Rafael Johannis Santis of Urbino" and had contracts as an adult.

Portrait of Elizabeth Gonzaga. Around 1503
Wood, oil. 53 x 37 cm

Look at the facial expression:

She, one of the most educated women of her time, turned the Urbino courtyard into a prominent center of Renaissance culture. But the Renaissance - and this must be remembered - is not only the flourishing of humanism, circles of lovers of philosophy and art at the courts, but also constant wars, bloody clan struggles, betrayals, mercenary armies, etc. Perhaps that is why the shadow on the face.

"The authorship of the portrait has not yet been definitely established. A number of researchers believe that the portrait was wholly or partially performed by Giovanni Santi, Raphael's father," the same experts say, but in the Uffizi Gallery under them there is a sign with the name of Raphael.

Modestly on the wall between the windows hangs his self-portrait in the gallery:

1506 Raphael is 23 years old.
"Nature itself endowed him with that modesty and kindness that sometimes happens in people who combine an exceptionally soft and sympathetic disposition with such an invaluable adornment as friendliness in address, which always allows you to be sweet and courteous with every person and in any circumstances" (Vasari, Biography of Raphael, 1568)

The contour of the figure is thin, slightly wavy - in Florence, Raphael has already joined the picturesque discoveries of Leonardo. Look at this collar, whether the shirt is peeking out, I don’t understand:

Important evidence:
"This most excellent painter studied the ancient techniques of Masaccio in the city of Florence, and 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. When he was in Florence, Raphael had, not to mention many others, close contact with Fra Bartolomeo of San Marco, whom he liked very much and whose color he tried in every possible way to imitate, while he himself, for his part, taught the good monk the rules of perspective, which the monk had not studied before.

When he was finally invited to Rome, among other artists, to paint the papal chambers, the first thing he did, neither more nor less - "The School of Athens". Hmm.
"... and Rafael gave her such a model of his skill that he, as it were, announced his decision to take undeniable primacy among all whoever took up the brush."
Pope Julius was so delighted with this work that he ordered to knock down all the old and new murals in order to make room for Raphael. Probably, his colleagues hated him, whose knocked him down from the walls.

This genius has done a lot of wonderful things.
His fame was immeasurable, the popes were showered with honors, he built himself a palace in Rome (bramante plastered it), was friends by correspondence with Dürer and exchanged drawings with him.
"... And he was a man of such magnitude that he kept draftsmen throughout Italy, in Pozzuolo and even in Greece, and did not find peace until he collected all the good things that could benefit this art."

And at the end of his life, some dark story: Pope Leo X promised him a cardinal's hat, because he owed the artist a lot of money. A cardinal friend persuaded her to marry. On my niece. Rafael promised, although he did not really want to. More precisely, he really did not want to, according to Vasari. He seemed to be greatly loved by various women, and he loved them.
And here is the misfortune: "... In anticipation of what (cardinality - M.A.), Rafael secretly continued to engage in his love affairs, indulging in these pleasures above all measure.
And then one day, after spending time even more dissolute than usual, it happened that Rafael returned home in extreme heat, and the doctors decided that he had caught a cold, and since he did not admit to his debauchery, blood was opened to him by negligence, which weakened him to the complete loss of strength, while he just needed their reinforcements. Then he made a will and first of all, as a Christian, he let his beloved out of the house, providing her with a decent existence ... "

He was born and died on Good Friday, having lived exactly 37 years.

"It must be assumed that his soul will adorn the heavenly abode, just as he adorned the earthly abode with his valor."

20 portraits do not raise doubts that they belong to the brush of Raphael (1483-1520). The issue of other portraits belonging to the artist is still controversial, and several more Raphael portraits have been lost.

Usually the work of Rafael Santi is divided into several periods: early (Urbino, Perugia), Florentine, Roman and late. In this periodization, we will also consider the portrait work of the artist.

Early period of creativity

During this period (from 1483 to 1504) Raphael lived in Urbino and Perugia. The attribution to Raphael of the portraits of this period (3 portraits) is still a matter of controversy. They are attributed to the brushes of Perugino, Francesco Francia, Lorenzo di Credi and other artists. Only the “Portrait of a Young Man” (Pietro Bembo) does not raise doubts about the authorship of Raphael.

Raphael Santi "Portrait of a Young Man" (circa 1504). Oil, board. 54x39. Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest (Hungary)

Pietro Bembo(1470-1547) - Italian humanist, cardinal and scientist.
The young man is depicted against the backdrop of a landscape, turning three-quarters, looking at the viewer from right to left. There is a slight smile on his lips, a clear and intelligent look, attracting with inner kindness.
Later, Raphael will depict Pietro Bembo in his famous fresco "The School of Athens" at No. 19 in the image of Zarathustra (see).

Florentine portraits

In 1504, Raphael moved to Florence, where he was strongly influenced by the work of Leonardo da Vinci. Raphael continues to paint portraits and creates fundamentally new techniques in this genre, which influenced many generations of artists until the 18th-19th centuries.

Raphael Santi "Young Man with an Apple" (circa 1505). Oil, board. 47x35 cm. Uffizi (Florence)

Of the 11 Florentine portraits, the attribution to Raphael of only 4 is controversial. The rest certainly belong to the brush of this artist: “Young man with an apple (Francesco Maria della Rovere) (circa 1505), “Lady with a unicorn”, “Pregnant” (circa 1505-1506), “Mute”, “Agnolo Doni” (circa 1506) , "Maddalena Strozzi" (circa 1506), "Self-portrait" (circa 1506).

Raphael Santi "Lady with a Unicorn" (circa 1505-1506)
Wood, oil. 65x61 cm. Galleria Borghese (Rome)

It is believed that the composition of the portrait was created under the influence of Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci (1505-1506). The columns of the loggia framing the figure are similar (in their modern form in Mona Lisa they are cut off), the pose of the model.
The woman is shown in a three-quarter turn. She sits in a loggia against the backdrop of a lake landscape. Clothing emphasizes her noble origin. Around her neck is a golden chain with a ruby ​​and emerald pendant with a pear-shaped pearl. On the head is a barely noticeable small diadem.
The lady is holding a small unicorn in her hands. Unicorn- a mythical creature symbolizing chastity (in a broad sense, spiritual purity and quest). He is represented as a horse with one horn coming out of his forehead. According to medieval legends, only a virgin could tame a unicorn.
Just like the “La Gioconda” by Leonardo, the lady in the portrait of Raphael is mysterious, graceful and has not yet been identified: for whom the picture was painted and who served as its model is not clear.

Rafael Santi "Mute" (circa 1507)
Canvas, oil. 64x48 cm. Marche National Gallery (Urbino)

The name of the painting is conditional and not entirely explicable, especially since the model is considered to be Elisabeth Gonzaga, the wife of the Duke of Urbino, Guidobaldo Montefeltro (or the sister of the Duke of Giovanna). Until 1631, "Mute" was kept in Urbino, and then was transported to Florence. In the XX century. the painting was returned from the Uffizi to the National Gallery of the Marche, the home of the author.
Elizabeth Gonzaga She was one of the most educated women of her time. She turned the Urbino courtyard into a well-known center of Renaissance culture. The circle of humanists that formed here included Baldassare Castiglione and Pietro Bembo, as well as the universal favorite Raphael, who often came to Urbino.
In this portrait, they also see a resemblance to the "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci, in particular, in a three-quarter turn, looking at the viewer from right to left, hair parted in the middle. Both paintings were painted at about the same time; most likely, Raphael deliberately copied the style of Leonardo.

Roman portraits of Raphael

In 1508, Raphael, at the invitation of Julius II, came to Rome and from then until his death lived in this city. Here the portrait art of Raphael reaches perfection.
Most of the portraits of the Roman period depict the associates of Pope Julius II and the pope himself. These portraits are distinguished by deep psychologism, unique individuality and, at the same time, an idealized idea of ​​a person, characteristic of the High Renaissance. The portraits are compositionally balanced, distinguished by subtle nobility. The artist refuses the landscape background in order to focus all attention on the person being portrayed.

Raphael Santi "Self-portrait with a friend" (circa 1518). Oil, canvas. 99x83. Louvre (Paris, France)

13 portraits belong to this period, of which the attribution to Raphael of one is controversial, and two works are lost.

Rafael Santi "Donna Velata" ("Lady with a Covered Head") (1515-1516)
Canvas, oil. 82x60.5 cm Palatine Gallery (Palazzo Pitti, Florence)

This is one of the most famous portraits of Rafael Santi.
The model for this work was the beloved of Rafael Fornarina.
Raphael met Fornarina in 1514 in Rome. By order of the banker Agostino Chigi, he worked on the design of the main gallery of his Villa Farnesina. For Chigi, Raphael painted the frescoes "Three Graces" and "Galatea".
For the fresco "Cupid and Psyche" Rafael began to look for a model and one day he saw the 17-year-old daughter of the baker Margarita Luti. The nickname "Fornarina" was given to her by Raphael (from Italian fornaro - baker). Their romance lasted 6 years, until the death of the master. Raphael bought his daughter from his father for 3 thousand gold pieces and rented a villa for her. After the death of the great artist in 1520, Fornarina went to a monastery.
The pinnacle of Raphael's portraiture is the portrait of his friend Baldassare Castiglione.

Rafael Santi "Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione (1515)
Oil, board. 82x67. Louvre (Paris, France)

This is the most famous portrait of Raphael. Baldassare Castiglione- a longtime patron and friend of Raphael. He was a diplomat, philosopher, poet, author of the famous treatise The Courtier. His image was distinguished by integrity and harmonious balance of character, agreement between his own understanding of the world around him and the reality in which he lived.
The Count of Castiglione is depicted as an adult. He wears heavy clothes of predominantly dark color and a fashionable hat. His face is calm and friendly, his gaze is inspired, marked by intelligence and kindness. This is the look of a person who understands people - he is friendly, but at the same time full of sadness and thought.
The figure of Castiglione is assembled, outlined by a closed line around the shoulders, hands are joined in the palms.
Creating a portrait of Baldassare Castiglione, Raphael embodied the ideal of a perfect man of the Renaissance.

Later portraits of Raphael

Portraits in the period 1518-1520 were created by Raphael with the participation of Giulio Romano.

Giulio Romano "Self Portrait"

Giulio Romano(1492-1546) - Italian painter and architect, the most significant of Raphael's students, one of the founders and original representatives of the art of mannerism.
There are 5 portraits of this period in total: “Isabella Requesens” (circa 1518), “Portrait of a Girl” (1518), “Fornarina” (circa 1518-1519), “Female Head (1520) and “Portrait of a Young Man” (circa 1518-1519) - disputed authorship of Raphael.
Later works are marked by an unusual coldness for Raphael, decorative complexity and pretentiousness of color, which are signs of the onset of the era of mannerism.

Raphael Santi (Giulio Romano) "Female head" (1520). Oil, board. 35x30. Estense Gallery (Modena, Italy)

An amazing discovery - I finally found information about a mysterious lady with a feronniere in the form of a scorpion!!!

In general, I was collecting information about books in the shape of a heart - I am preparing a detailed post for St. Valentine's Day, but suddenly, quite unexpectedly, I found what I was looking for for a long time, pestering everyone who has even the slightest relation to history and art with questions. :))) Apparently, it was so on the surface that it could not even occur to knowledgeable people what exactly I want to know, what, in fact, I ask! :)))

(If I understood correctly, this is a copy of her jewelry - a black scorpion holds a green gem (emerald?) in a gold frame in its paws. I am not strong in such matters and do not know exactly what this could mean!)

So, I confess my ignorance - that same mysterious lady in the portrait by Raphael, supposedly fond of the occult sciences and therefore wearing a feronniere with a scorpion-shaped pendant, the lady whose hard look so struck me when I wandered through the Uffizi Gallery - this is Elisabeth Gonzaga!
One pleases - I still correctly remembered that this is Raphael. I didn't find this picture right away. :))))))))))

I have not seen anything like it - usually feronnieres were still in the form of one large precious stone or rosette of stones.

One fact that I read from Hermann Weiss speaks in favor of the version of magical signs - during the Renaissance it was fashionable to decorate clothes with some kind of trim with letter patterns. I quote from his book "High Renaissance. Italian Renaissance": "Sometimes wide and long sleeves, in imitation of the Burgundian-French fashion, were trimmed on the outside with expensive gold or pearl embroidery, reproducing some arbitrarily chosen saying." But are they letters or some other symbols? I quote another source (the book "The Courtier" by Baltasar Castiglione), which describes one of her dresses - "a black velvet dress embroidered in the form of symbols." Perhaps this is the dress shown in the picture? However, there is a discrepancy - the dress described was worn in 1506, on the fourth day of the wedding celebrations in honor of the marriage of Lucrezia Borgia, whom Elizabeth accompanied, and the time of the portrait was 1504. In addition, Weiss describes the letters as inherent in the fashion of the 14th and 15th centuries, and the portrait was created at the beginning of the 16th century. Although, perhaps, such embroidery could not go out of fashion.

I also looked at beautiful golden lilies (?), with additional decoration in the form of red and black stones - perhaps, is this a Florentine lily? Although it is doubtful ... Can all this indirectly indicate that all her jewelry has an occult meaning? She also noticed the chains - some kind of medallion behind the corsage?

I decided to try to investigate this mysterious story and guess what it could mean.

Suppose that this scorpion meant her commitment to the occult, then here, I quote: "The scorpion has always been considered an invariable attribute of sorcerers and witches." in Christianity is negative - "In the Bible, the scorpion, like a snake, is a symbol of demonic forces. In the Revelation of John the Theologian, he is called one of the animals that live in the underworld. In medieval art, the scorpion often acted as a symbol of Judas, i.e. a symbol of betrayal, envy and hatred." Here's one for you! Could this woman so openly challenge - they say, I'm a witch and I don't care what you think about it? Or was it a warning to her enemies?

(I can’t guarantee that this is a photograph of exactly the original of her portrait, but it’s possible - the reproductions seemed too dark to me, I remember that she is lighter - both her hair and her eyes ).

In addition, there is another fact - the scorpion symbolized Africa, I quote: “In Africa, it was believed that the scorpion itself allocates funds against its poison, therefore its symbolism is both negative and positive: it was a symbol of healing on the one hand, and a symbol of murder on the other hand. another.In the Middle Ages, the scorpion was considered the emblem of Africa, as part of the earth. " However, what could an Italian aristocrat have to do with Africa? Did you read the writings of Roman historians, did you find something special there?

However, in the East and in Egypt, the scorpion was not considered completely bad - scorpions guarded Isis, for example ... or here, I quote again: "The scorpion is a symbol of evil, self-destruction, death, punishment, retribution, revenge, betrayal, but also a deep understanding of the world. Sometimes the scorpion serves as a talisman and an amulet - Paracelsus advised people suffering from diseases of the reproductive system to wear it. (I read that her husband had problems, but not hers ...) I also read in passing somewhere that it was also worn as protection from evil forces. More:

Her husband, Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, was seriously ill with gout from his very youth, which "poisoned his family joys", but Elizabeth probably loved her husband of the same age and did not get divorced - Guidobaldo, with his physical weakness, was a smart man and educated, philanthropist, patron of artists and writers, founder of the university. His court was one of the most brilliant and refined in that golden age of the Renaissance! Why shouldn't Elizabeth prefer spiritual love - for a person, judging by the portrait, refined, the ruler of an interesting society of educated people - after all, she herself was very educated? After all, she never married a second time, although she was still young - 36 years old - and were there marriage proposals?

What is more interesting - the scorpion was also considered a symbol of Logic, i.e. perhaps there is a hint of the "Seven Free Arts" - all the more so, it was to this woman that the book "The Courtier" was dedicated, which was built as her answers to some questions.

It also symbolized the Earth and royal power. I quote from The Courtier: "... The soul of each of us was filled with extraordinary happiness every time we gathered in the presence of Signora Duchess... For the chastity and dignity inherent in all actions, words and gestures of Signora Duchess, her jokes and laughter, forced even those who had never seen her before to recognize in her the great empress. ( Per. O.F. Kudryavtseva) There are very, very many options, and it is difficult for me to choose what exactly this sign could mean - it is possible that all together. :)

Once again her portrait, a different color...

I will also try to consider the astrological version that we discussed with - after all, I am not a professional astrologer and I have forgotten almost everything that I taught. :) Scorpio couldn't be her solar sign, because. she was born on February 9th. If Scorpio stands on the ascendant, then this affects the appearance - here is one of the descriptions: "The lips are small and thick. The nose is well defined, and the bridge of the nose is high and bony or with a hump. You have a piercing, burning look. This is especially noticeable when a scorpion on the ascendant. the face is mostly square in shape, the eyes are widely spaced, the lower jaw is also square and heavy. the ears are small and pressed to the head. the mouth is large, with full sensual tubes, and their corners are lowered." - fits? I am not sure. Unfortunately, I lost the lecture. in which this particular ascendant was described, but I don’t remember from memory - after all, 6 years have passed since my graduation from the astrological school and the moment when I stopped doing astrology.

Raphael.Elizabeth Gonzaga Duchess of Urbino. 1504. Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Elizabeth Gonzaga (1471 - 1526), ​​daughter of Federico I Gonzaga. In February 1488, Elizabeth married Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino. Since 1502, when Cesare Borgia seized the possessions of Guidobaldo, she lived with her husband in Mantua, then returned to Urbino (1503). The husband of Elizabeth Gonzaga, the Duke of Urbino, Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, is known not only as a military leader and politician, but also as a philanthropist. During his reign, a university was founded in Urbino, which still exists today. Guidobaldo provided patronage to the young Raphael, a native of the city of Urbino. In 1506, Raphael painted a small canvas, “St. George Kills the Dragon,” commissioned by Guidobaldo. “This man combined the talents of a commander and a scientist, and in all of Italy there was no sovereign more beloved by his subjects. Having received an excellent education, the patron of sciences and arts, he collected a rare library and devoted all his time free from state affairs to it. - R. Sabatini, “The Life of Cesare

The couple were fond of art. At their court lived many of the most educated people of that time. For example, the writer Castiglione Baldassarre (1478-1529) wrote the book "About a Courtier" based on conversations with Elizabeth during his life at her court. Elisabeth Gonzaga took care of the young Raphael after his mother died.

The orphaned boy was cared for by his uncle, the brother of the deceased mother, and the Duchess of Urbino, Elisabeth Gonzaga, who had a great influence on the impressionable child. She was a wonderful, kind and warm-hearted woman, a rare intellectual, poetess, diplomatic mentor and adviser to her husband, even for her enlightened time. At the court, a circle of highly educated and significant people was created - writers, artists, architects, scientists. The fact that the teenager was constantly in this environment was for him a kind of university, and the clever one, who spoke almost all European languages, Elizabeth turned out to be the best teacher.

Probably, it is from here that Raphael's excellent manners, his knowledge of history and literature, his poetic gift, so brilliantly realized in painting. I wonder why Rafael, sensitive and friendly, never painted a portrait of his benefactor, rather an adoptive mother. The Duchess of Urbino was written by many, flattering her - she was not a beauty. Rafael loved the duchess sincerely. Therefore, throughout his, alas, short, but incredibly eventful creative life, he endowed some of his characters either with her slight smile, or with a kind, always affectionate look, or with a special high forehead.

A laudatory portrait of Elisabeth Gonzaga is contained in the book of dialogues "About the Courtier" by Baldassare Castiglione. By the time the book was published, she was no longer alive.

".. The soul of each of us was filled with extraordinary happiness every time we gathered in the presence of Signora Duchess ... For the chastity and dignity inherent in all actions, words and gestures of Signora Duchess, her jokes and laughter, made even those who had never before I didn’t see her, recognize her as a great empress"

Portrait of Elisabetta Gonzaga

Location
Uffizi Gallery, Florence
About work
Subject and objects: Portrait
Style of art and technique: Renaissance (Renaissance), Tempera

annotation
In the 18th century, this painting was attributed to the school of Giovanni Bellini, in the first half of the 19th century it was attributed to Andrea Mantegna, only at the beginning of the 20th century it was established that the work belongs to Raphael (however, there are still those who question its authorship), and is depicted on She is the wife of the Duke of Urbino Guidobaldo da Montefeltro Elisabetta Gonzaga.

“What is he Gonzage? What is Gonzaga to him?

Was Rafael well acquainted with Elisabetta? Unlike numerous “Madonnas” and female portraits, the models of which have remained unknown (or, if history has preserved their names, then the role in the artist’s fate is either completely unclear or shrouded in legends in which it is difficult to distinguish truth from fiction), in In the case of the model of this portrait, we can answer in the affirmative: yes, Rafael knew her, and very closely.

But in order to explain the circumstances in which the duchess and Raphael crossed, you need to start with his father - Giovanni Santi. Like his son, he was a native of the Italian city of Urbino. The Duke of Urbino during the elder Santi was the condottiere Federigo da Montefeltro - an outstanding Renaissance figure, military leader, politician and connoisseur of the arts. Anyone who is interested in painting of that period, of course, well remembers the double portrait of Duke Federigo and his wife Battista Sforza, painted by Piero della Francesca: once you see this strong-willed profile with an expressive broken nose, you will not soon forget it. This outstanding ruler, who planned to make Urbino an "ideal city", a "city-palace", had Giovanni Santi, Raphael's father, a court painter.

The sixth child of the duke and his wife Battista was a weak and sickly boy, Guidobaldo. He was only 10 years old when Federigo da Montefeltro died in 1482, but it was Guidobaldo who became the Duke of Urbino after his father, since all the children born before him were girls. In the National Gallery of the Marche, which eventually transformed the Urbino palace, there is a dynastic portrait, which depicts Federigo and his little angelic heir Guidobaldo. We do not know the author for sure: at first it was believed that this was Melozzo da Forli, then - Justus van Gent, now it is more or less unanimously assumed that the portrait was painted by the Spaniard Pedro Berruguete. The most curious thing in this picture is the detailed writing out of the regalia: Federigo has an order of an ermine around his neck, and an order of a garter under his knee, and his little son is dressed in a dress richly covered with large pearls, his forehead and chest are decorated with amethysts resembling zodiacal symbols, and in his hands Guidobaldo holds the scepter of Gonfalonier (in Rome, the so-called commander-in-chief of the papal troops, in Florence - the head of government and guarantor of the constitution), although he is no more than five years old here.

So, at the age of 10, Guidobaldo received the dukedom, and after 6 years he planned (or rather, so his entourage decided) to marry. Our heroine, Elisabetta Gonzaga, sister of the Macgrave of Mantua, was chosen as his bride. She was not particularly beautiful and was a little older than the young Duke da Montefeltro, but influential relatives considered her an excellent match, and Guidobaldo went to the bride in Mantua. Some fiction writers call Elisabetta an “overripe bride” - in our times, this is ridiculous: Guidobaldo was 16, and she was 17. But if we remember how Shakespeare’s Paris, wooing 14-year-old Juliet, says to her doubting father, Count Capulet: “ I knew younger happy mothers…”, this cruel definition will become clearer to us.

At the meeting, Elisabetta struck the groom, except for her high, as for a woman, height. It is known that after signing in Mantua all the documents relating to the marriage contract, the frail Guidobaldo decided to show off in the saddle - and very unsuccessfully. The skittish horse threw him off at full gallop, the duke returned to Urbino with broken arms and ribs and a displacement of the cervical vertebrae.

Nevertheless, despite the unfavorable omens, the high-profile wedding of Elisabetta Gonzaga and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro took place: more than five hundred high-born guests gathered from different parts of Italy, the festivities lasted until late at night, and Giovanni Santi even composed and staged a three-act comedy in verse in honor of the holiday, for which he himself painted the scenery, and now he began to be considered not just an artist, but something like the minister of education at the ducal court. His son Raphael was about six years old at the time.

"Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way"

Was the newly-made Duchess of Urbino satisfied with her fate? Let's imagine how she ended up in an amazingly magnificent castle built by the charismatic Federigo, whom she did not happen to catch. It was designed by the architect Laurana and the best engineers of his time, and Leon Battista Alberti himself advised the construction. The castle was of extraordinary beauty and functionality: hanging gardens, halls decorated by famous artists, an inlaid study of the owner, a grandiose throne room for receptions, as well as an unprecedented level of domestic amenities at that time - plumbing with a water re-purification system, a kitchen and a glacier, latrines that were heated in the same way as the baths of Ancient Rimayu. All this was an extreme luxury for its time. When the French philosopher Montaigne, while traveling, came to Urbino, he was amazed at the scale of the Montefeltro Palace and recorded in his travel notes that there were no fewer rooms and halls than there were days in a year.

But Elisabetta's family life did not work out from the very beginning. Pretty soon she became disillusioned with her husband. Painful Guidobaldo (in addition to the displacement of the vertebrae, he suffered from a severe form of gout - a congenital metabolic defect that affects the joints) was not able to conceive an heir. Their marriage remained childless. Perhaps that is why Elisabetta tenderly took care of the growing Raphael. Not so much because she foresaw future successes - rather, out of favor to his parents: the graceful Maggia, Raphael's mother, was the decoration of the duchess's retinue, his father Giovanni was not only an artist and decorator, but also the organizer of all kinds of entertainment at court, including beloved by all jousting tournaments. At the age of 8, Raphael will lose his mother, and the society of the educated, intelligent, exquisitely kind Elisabetta, Duchess of Urbino will contribute to his education and the development of his taste for poetry, susceptibility to beauty. When the second wife of Giovanni Santi has a daughter, Elisabetta Gonzaga will agree to become the godmother, so that in her honor, Raphael's half-sister will also be called Elisabetta.

For all that, Elisabetta's devotion to her husband was beyond doubt. In 1497, Cesare Borgia surrounded Urbino. Gout-stricken Guidobaldo commanded the defense of the city, defending the independence of Urbino. Due to severe pain, he could only move on a stretcher, and one day the Borgia thugs kidnapped the duke near the fortress walls and demanded a fantastic ransom for him. To save her husband, Elisabetta, who was hiding at that time in Mantua, sold off her jewelry and mortgaged hereditary land plots, and when this was not enough, she took out a bank loan at an exorbitant interest. It was only thanks to her efforts that the half-dead duke returned home. And the insidious Borgia, having returned Guidobaldo, continued to shamelessly troll him, calling him “dear Italian brother” and sending gifts with implication: once it turned out to be a silver barrel of oysters - a well-known means for raising potency, another time - ancient sculptures of Venus and Eros. Their meaning was obviously mocking. Everyone knew about the intimate trouble of the Montefeltro family. Relatives tried to persuade Elisabetta to divorce her hateful husband and a more profitable union - the duchess did not succumb.

And what about Raphael?

Raphael will go to Perugia, then to Florence and, finally, to Rome, but he will be happy to come to Urbino from time to time (although his parents will no longer be alive there) precisely because he liked the atmosphere of the ducal court, which was largely determined by Elisabetta's personality. Raphael's friend, writer and diplomat Baldassare Castiglione will dedicate his famous treatise The Courtier to Elisabetta. The reveler Baldassare will write with reverence about the Duchess of Urbino that "chastity and dignity are inherent even in her jokes and laughter." (There is a version that Castiglione, leaving in 1506 for England on a diplomatic mission, took with him a portrait of Elisabetta, as he was in love with her. In order not to compromise the duchess, the portrait was hidden from prying eyes under the surface of the mirror. Looking at it, Castiglione mentally matched his reflection with the image of his beloved.A thin black frame, according to some scholars, proves that this is the portrait that Baldassare took with him).

According to another version, the 33-year-old duchess ordered this portrait from Raphael in order to send it as a gift to her friend Isabella d "Este, another outstanding (although Leonardo and Titian was plagued by her whims) woman of her era, who was called la Primadonna del Rinascimento - the prima donna of the Renaissance She was Elisabetta's daughter-in-law - Isabella was married to her brother.

Elisabetta in the portrait is wearing a black dress with geometric gold ornaments. Black and gold are not chosen by chance: these are the heraldic colors of Urbino. Of the jewelry on the duchess, gold chains and an accessory in the form of a scorpion with a precious stone on her forehead. Its meaning is unclear. It is believed that the scorpion is related to the esoteric science of melothesia (part of medical astrology), which associates the signs of the zodiac with certain parts of the human body. Scorpio, characteristically, in this system is responsible for the genitals.

Rafael does not paint portraits of Elisabetta and Guidobaldo in profile, face to face (as Piero della Francesco once did with a paired portrait of Guidobaldo's parents), and does not arrange them in a three-quarter spread, facing each other (although at about the same time, this is exactly how Raphael wrote the married couple Agnolo and Maddalena Doni). The artist depicts the Duke and Duchess of Urbino strictly from the front. This gives their images a strange stillness and alienation from each other.

“In this diptych of a married couple,” Raphael’s biographer Alexander Makhov writes about the portraits of Guidobaldo and Elisabetta, “the young portrait painter managed to subtly convey the difficult relationship that connects this childless ruling couple who did not know mutual affection, not to mention love. The ugly face of the smart 33-year-old Elizabeth reflects the inescapable longing for the feeling of motherhood, which she did not have a chance to know. As for the portrait of her younger husband, this is the very expression of weakness and hidden ailment that wears away his flesh like a worm. Unlike his strong-willed father, the young ruler of Urbino was a gentle and indecisive man. He had little understanding of people and usually appointed those who were advised by his wife, who played the role of an intelligent and caring wife-mother, to leadership positions.

For 6 years, Elisabetta Gonzaga (1471-1526) will outlive Raphael (1483-1520) and by as much as 18 - her husband Guidobaldo (1472-1508), in marriage with whom she often had to live apart and feel lonely. To distant Russia, to the exhibition “Raphael. Poetry of the image "(September - December 2016) in the State Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin, Elisabetta also arrived without Guidobaldo, whose portrait was left waiting for her in the Uffizi.

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