Raphael

Raphael

Introduction:  Raffaello Sanzio, usually known as Raphael (April 6, 1483 - April 6, 1520), was a Renaissance painter and architect. He, along with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, is considered one of the three greatest painters of the High Renaissance.

He is best known for his paintings of the Madonna and Christ Child and for his paintings in the Vatican in Rome, Italy.

History: Raphael was born in Urbino, in the region of Umbria, Italy. He was the son of Giovanni Santi (d. 1494), who was also a painter, and Magia di Battista Ciarla (d. 1491). Giovanni Santi was Raphael's first teacher, but he died when Raphael was only eleven.

Raphael had a difficult childhood: his mother died when he was nine, his father died when he was eleven, and his siblings died when they were young.  He competed with two other famous artists (Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo) while he was working in Rome.  Raphael was engaged to be married, but never married his fiancé.  Raphael was considered one of the most important architects in Rome.  Raphael was charming. It is believed that he beat other artists for work because of his friendliness and outgoing personality.

Perugino was Raphael's teacher. This is his self-portrait.

When he was about 15, Raphael became an apprentice at the workshop of the painter Pietro Perugino. Perugino was known by that name because he was the most famous painter in the town of Perugia. Perugino was famous, not only in Umbria but also in Rome and in Florence, the home of Leonardo and Michelangelo. He had been one of the artists given the important job of painting the Pope's large chapel in the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel.

Art:  Raphael was able to learn a great deal from Perugino - drawing, the anatomy of the human figure, paint chemistry, and the technique of putting the paint onto the picture in smooth layers. Raphael is famous simply because he excelled at painting and because people loved his paintings so much.

Other works:  The painting that is thought to be his earliest known work is a small picture called The Vision of a Knight. 

Other early pictures by Raphael are Three Graces and Saint Michael.

Raphael's first major work was The Marriage of the Virgin, which was painted in 1504. It was influenced by Perugino's painting for the Sistine Chapel of Jesus giving the Keys to Saint Peter. It is now in the Brera Gallery in Milan, Italy. 

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