The Renaissance is a time of intellectual dawn, a time when the whole culture has taken a special shape. This flowering and spiritual uplift occurred due to great personalities, heroes of the era. One of these people was Rafael Santi.
Biography
Rafael was born in 1483 in the town of Urbino in the family of the court painter Giovanni Santi. The father did not possess such talents as Raphael, but he instilled in his son a love of art. Giovanni painted temples and took the boy with him, Rafael sat quietly looking at the frescoes, and sometimes, with the permission of his father, mixed paints.
Mother died in 1491, father later died. Rafael became an orphan at 11 years old, but thanks to his father’s connections, he continued to paint with court teachers.
The beginning of creativity
At seventeen, he comes to the workshop of P. Perugino. Pietro, a renowned Italian artist, was the head of a large workshop. Raphael became his most famous student. From the very beginning of his career, Raphael Santi was distinguished by his ability to combine colors, show all their depth, build a harmonious composition. One of these early works is the Madonna of the Conestabile, depicting the Virgin Mary and the baby of Christ.
Maturity of the artist
With the help of Pietro Perugino, Rafael moved to a new level of skill and with the acquired skills he was leaving for Florence - the capital of Italian art.
In Florence, he began to write from nature. Raphael was fortunate enough to work with Michelangelo, from whom he learned to convey emotions through poses and camera angles. Many of his works are dedicated to the Mother of God, which is why the artist began to be called "The Poet of the Image of the Madonna."
The fame of the master reached Rome, Pope Julius II invited Raphael to this city, where the artist lived until the end of his days. Upon arrival, I received an important and honorable order - to paint the ceremonial chambers of the Vatican Palace. In 1508, Raphael began to decorate the rooms with frescoes (in Italian, “stanzas”). Each wall of the stanza is decorated with a composition, that is, four frescoes in the room. The Athens School is considered the best of the frescoes ; it is recognized as one of the best works of the Renaissance.
Rafael Santi also became famous as an architect, after the death of Bramante took the post of architect of St. Peter's Basilica.
Transfiguration 1518-1520
The painting "Transfiguration" by Rafael Santi was commissioned by Cardinal Giulio Medici for the city cathedral, it was impossible to refuse. Around the picture there is debate about whether it was all painted by Raphael.
There are suggestions that R. Santi did not have time to finish the picture in connection with a sudden death, therefore only his main scene belongs to his brush: Christ and the apostles. And the plot at the bottom of the picture is executed by the students of Raphael Giulio Romano and Gianfranchesko Penny.
According to another version, the whole picture was painted by Raphael and only a few figures were completed by the students.
It is only known that the dying creator showed his student Giulio Romano a gesture to the picture "Transfiguration", urging him to finish the work.
Raphael Santi's painting, The Transfiguration, describes a biblical story written in the gospels. Christ decided to show his true appearance, he took James, John and Peter. He went to a high mountain, where only they were, and was transformed. His face shone like the sun, his clothes became white as light. When they came to the people, a man approached Jesus and bending his knee asked to heal his demoniac son. Christ healed the boy and the demon left him.
For a long time Raphael did not know how to write this picture. How to portray these complex plots is a miracle. He tried to imagine himself in the place of the apostles who saw what was happening, but he could not bring himself closer to these unearthly sensations.
Painstakingly, he began to paint. Several times changed the position of the figures, changed the composition.
Rafael Santi "Transfiguration": description
The figure of Christ admires how the light is transmitted, a feeling of exaltation, flight is created. This is a real miracle, the apostles are blinded by what they saw.
The bottom of the picture is contrasted at the top, here it is twilight, everyone is crowding, pushing. This is all human fuss and bustle. This is all base compared to what we see in the person of Christ.
The painting is recognized as a world masterpiece. In 1797, Napoleon’s troops confiscated the Transfiguration. The painting was placed in the Louvre, where it was studied by artists, it became an example - an ideal. Napoleon himself considered Raphael a genius, and Transfiguration - his most grandiose work. Only in 1815 the picture was returned to the Vatican.
Due to moving, the picture was damaged. Twice it was restored.
End of life
Many creators were neither famous nor recognized during their lifetime. But Rafael Santi was not among them, the artist was revered, even called "divine." Thanks to his talents, he had powerful patrons and lived in luxury.
But the death befell the creator suddenly at the age of 37 years, modern researchers write that the reason for this is fever. Before his death, the master left a will in which he did not forget anyone: neither relatives, nor friends, nor students ... The whole Rome came to say goodbye to the maestro, over the headboard they saw the last masterpiece of the genius - Raphael Santi's painting “Transfiguration of the Lord”. Raphael is buried in the Pantheon. By the way, the artist chose the tomb for himself, and his student Santi Lorenzetti erected a statue of the Virgin Mary, fulfilling the desire of his teacher.