Raffaello Sanzio

Raphael, known also as Raffaello Sanzio or for his place of

birth, Raffaello Urbino; Sanzio is derived from Santi, his
father’s surname, Giovanni Santi (1435 – 1494), who was
also a painter and poet in Urbino. Raphael’s place as a
master of the High Renaissance is mentioned next to
Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci; though he is often
compared in status to his prominent contemporaries, Andrea
del Sarto (1486 – 1531), Correggio (1489 – 1534) and Titian
(1485 – 1576). Raphael’s works as a painter and architect,
primarily of the Florentine School, influenced a great deal of
the Renaissance and beyond.
He trained first in his father’s workshop, but Giorgio Vasari
(1511 – 1574) mentioned that his father placed Raphael in
the workshop of Pietro Perugino (1446 – 1524). His first
known work was a 1500 altarpiece in the Church of San
Nicola of Tolentino just outside Perugia and Urbino. His
early work is marked by an influence from Paolo Uccello
(1397 – 1475 and Luca Signorelli (1445 – 1523), but he was
profoundly influenced in Florence by Leonardo da Vinci
(1452 – 1519) in chiaroscuro and sfumato, as well as being
inspired by Michelangelo (1475 – 1564).
Raphael then entered his highly productive Roman period,
under the almost exclusive patronage of Pope Julius II,
Giuliano della Rovere (1443 – 1513) and his successor, Leo
X, Giovanni di Lorenzo de’Medici (1475 – 1521). Portraits by
Raphael of both men can now be seen in the Uffizi Gallery.
Raphael’s works in the Vatican Palace became known as the
Stanze di Raffaello (Raphael Rooms), where his famous
School of Athens painting was created, among many others.
It was here that Raphael worked with one of his most
important pupils, Giulio Romano (1499 – 1546), who
completed works in the Vatican left unfinished in the
master’s death.
Of his works in the Uffizi Gallery are, Madonna of the
Goldfinch, painted for the marriage of Lorenzo di Bartolomeo
Nasi to Sandra di Matteo Canigiani in 1505; the work shows
the early Florentine influence of Leonardo on Raphael in the
composition’s geometric design. Also in the Uffizi from this
period is a Self-Portrait, as well as an earlier portrait from
1503, Young Man with an Apple, of who is thought to be
Francesco Maria della Rovere, the Duke of Urbino. Also in
the Uffizi is his portrait of, Pope Leo X with Cardinals Giulio
de’Medici and Luigi de’ Rossi, Portrait of Elisabetta Gonzaga,
Portrait of Guidubaldo da Montefeltro as well as works
attributed to Raphael and an assistant, Saint John the
Baptist in the Desert and a portrait of Pope Julius II, a copy
of the master’s original now housed in the National Gallery
of London.
Much of Raphael’s art reached wide-spread influence due to
his collaboration with the engraver, Marcantonio (1480 –
1534), who produced about 50 prints of Raphael’s works,
some were copies of paintings and others were Raphael’s
original designs for engravings. These prints took the glory
of Raphael’s art beyond the borders of Italy, forever
ingraining his influence on western art.
(Some of this text has been adapted from the
www.wikipedia.org entry on Raphael, available under GNU
Free Documentation License.)
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