RAFFAELLE, SANZIO. 



RAFFAELLE, SANZIO. 



palace, and in two heads of monks, iu the Acadernia at Florence. The 

 ' St. Catherine/ which passed from the Aldobrandini collection into 

 that of Mr. Beckford, and afterwards into the National Gallery, was 

 executed in the latter part of the artist's residence at Florence. The 

 two works which must be considered as closing this division are the 

 'Madonna del Baldacchino' or 'di Pescia/ left unfinished when the 

 painter started for Rome, and the ' Entombment of Christ.' The 

 former picture bears some resemblance in its technical details to the 

 works of Fra Bartolomeo : it is now in the Pitti palace. The latter 

 was painted by order of Atalauta Baglioui for S. Francesco at Perugia, 

 and forms part of the Borghese collection. It is an elaborate compo- 

 sition, of the greatest beauty and power of expression, proving how 

 much Raffaelle had pi'ofited by his Florentine studies. 



The invitation given by Julius II. to Raffaelle would be sufficiently 

 accounted for by the celebrity of the artist himself, although it is very 

 probable that his connection with the family Delia Rovere, or the 

 favour of his fellow-countryman Bramante, facilitated his introduction 

 at the papal court. He seems to have left Florence, rather suddenly, 

 towards the end of the year 1508. 



The ' Stanze ' decorated by the pencil of Raffaelle were the living- 

 rooms of the papal court in the time of Leo X. His frescoes suffered 

 during the occupation of Rome by the imperial troops in 1527, and 

 by subsequent neglect, when the popes had transferred their residence 

 to the Quirinal. In the years 1702 and 1703 they were cleaned and 

 restored by Carlo Maratti, who repainted the larger portion of the 

 decorative framework. 



The Camera della Segnatura was the first worked on by Raffaelle. 

 The figures of Theology, Poetry, Philosophy, and Justice on the ceiling, 

 preceded in execution the large paintings on the walls. Of these last 

 the ' Disputa del Sacramento,' as it is commonly called, was the 

 earliest. In simple beauty and severe dignity, in energy and individual 

 character, this work has never been surpassed; in technical excellence, 

 and the picturesque qualities of breadth, composition, and softness, it 

 is certainly inferior to the 'Parnassus' and the 'School of Athens,' 

 which came next. The allegorical figures of Temperance, Fortitude, 

 and Prudence, in the semicircular division on the remaining side of 

 the room, are among the most beautiful of Raffaella's designs. 



In the Stanza d'Eliodoro, the fresco of ' Heliodorus,' together with 

 that of the ' Mass of Bolsena ' and the scripture subjects in the ceiling, 

 were executed in the pontificate of Julius. It is impossible to show 

 more complete understanding of the application of painting to a story 

 than Raffaelle has displayed in the first of these compositions. The 

 colouring of the 'Mass of Bolsena' is admirable. 



In 1513 Leo X. succeeded to the papal chair. The two remaining 

 frescoes in the Stanza d'Eliodoro, that is to say, ' Attila repelled from 

 Rome' and the 'Liberation of St. Peter,' belong to his reign. The 

 latter is supposed to allude to the pope's escape, when Cardinal de' 

 Medici, after the battle of Ravenna ; and the former to the retreat of 

 the French from Italy. 



In the third room, or Stanza del Incendio, the ceiling contains some 

 paintings of P. Perugino, which were spared when those of other 

 masters were destroyed to make room for the works of Raffaelle. The 

 subjects on the walls are the ' Burning of the Borgo ' (or suburb of 

 Rome), the 'Victory over the Saracens at Ostia,' the ' Coronation of, 

 Charlemagne,' and the ' Death of Leo III.' The execution of all 

 these was more or less left to pupils ; those in the Sala di Costantino 

 were wholly painted by Julio Romano and others, from designs by 

 Raffaelle. 



The loggie, or open colonnades, designed by Bramante, were deco- 

 rated under the directions of Raffaelle by his principal scholars. The 

 cartoons for the tapestry to be hung round the Sistine Chapel were 

 prepared in 1515 and 1516, at the desire of Leo X. These cartoons 

 were cut into strips for the convenience of the workmen at Arras. 

 By some unaccountable neglect they remained in Flanders, and seven 

 of the ten were, after the expiration of a century, bought by Charles I. 

 at the suggestion of Rubens. When the property of the crown was 

 sold by the Commonwealth they were valued at 300Z., and purchased 

 by Cromwell's order at that price for the nation. William III. caused 

 these precious fragments to be properly mounted and put up at 

 Hampton Court. In 1766 they were removed to Buckingham House, 

 thence carried to Windsor, and in 1804 again restored to Hampton 

 Court. The cartoons have far greater pretensions to be considered 

 as original works of Raffaelle than the paintings in the two last rooms 

 of the Vatican just referred to. In composition they are unrivalled, 

 and their whole conception is admirably adapted to the purpose which 

 they were meant to fulfil. 



The ' Isaiah' in San Agostiuo was probably painted in 1512 or 1513, 

 and the ' Sibyls ' in Santa Maria della Pace shortly afterwards. 

 Rumohr, on technical grounds, places the latter (one of the artist's 

 most admirable works) about 1515. Their subjects and their mode of 

 treatment sufficiently establish in a general sense that imitation of 

 Michel Angelo of which so much has been said. 



We must now return to the smaller works of Raffaelle. 



Vasari says that his portrait of Julius II. was so like as to inspire 

 fear, as if it were alive. The original thus spoken of is supposed to be 

 in the Tribune at Florence. Two copies of it are in the Pitti palace, 

 and one in our own National Gallery. The last came from the Borghese 

 collection. On the subject of Raffaelle's own portrait a good deal of 



controversy has taken place. It is certainly difficult to detect much 

 resemblance between the portrait in the Florence collection and that 

 purchased by the king of Bavaria from the Altoviti family ; and the 

 expression of Vasari, " a Bindo Altoviti fece il ritratto suo," is 

 ambiguous, but nevertheless we believe the picture now at Munich to 

 be the work of Raffaelle and his own portrait. 



Three portraits exist, which are believed to represent Raffaelle's 

 mistress, the so-called Fornarina, painted by himself. One of these is 

 in the Barberini, another in the Sciarra palace (at Rome), and the 

 third is in the Tribune at Florence. This last picture bears the date 

 of 1512, and was at one time attributed to Giorgione. Certain it is 

 that the colour would be worthy of the Venetian master, and that the 

 face and form are Venetian in their character. 



The Madonna della Seggiola, the Madonna del Duca di Alba, and 

 several others of somewhat similar feeling belong to the early part of 

 Raffaelle's residence at Rome. The Madonna di Foligno, now in the 

 Vatican, was painted for Gismondo Couti, probably about the time 

 of the completion of the Camera della Segnatura. The Vision of 

 Ezekiel is said to have been paid for in 1510; two pictures of the 

 subject exist, one in the Pitti palace, and another, from the Orleans 

 gallery, in the collection of Sir Thomas Baring. It is disputed whether 

 either, and if either, which of these two is the original. The St. 

 Cecilia at Bologna was ordered about 1510, and completed somewhat 

 later ; it has suffered greatly from restoration. 



The four great altar-pieces of Raffaelle's later time are 



1. The Madonna del Pez, painted for San Domenico at Naples, and 

 now (1833) in tho Iglesia Vieja of the Escurial. It is a composition 

 of the purest and simplest beauty. 2. The Madonna di Santa Sisto 

 the well-known pride of the Dresden gallery. It is painted on canvas 

 and Rumohr conjectures that it was intended for a ' drapelloue,' or 

 large standard, to be carried in procession, attached to two poles. A 

 picture, by Guido, painted on grey silk, and called ' il pallione,' from 

 being used in this manner, is to be seen in the Pinacoteca at Bologna 

 (No. 138). The most striking points in the Madonna di Santa Sisto are 

 the deeply meditative anticipation of future suffering in the Virgin, 

 and the superhuman character imparted to the Christ by the union 

 of a childish form with the severe thoughtfuluess of maturer age. 

 3. The Spasimo di Sicilia, executed for Santa Maria dello Spasimo, 

 at Palermo, is now in the public gallery at Madrid. There is some- 

 thing academical in the figure of the executioner, but the deep feeling 

 in the right-hand group of women reminds us of the Borghese entomb- 

 ment. This picture has suffered much by restoration, and has 

 acquired a sort of brickdust colour. 4. The Transfiguration, usually 

 considered to be Raffaelle's masterpiece. It was left unfinished at 

 his death. 



Besides the above-named works, we must allude to the Visitation 

 and the Perla, both in the sacristy of the Escurial. The latter formed 

 part of the collection of Charles I. of England. 



The Archangel Michael, and the Holy Family, painted in 1518, for 

 Francis I., are first-rate pictures of the artist's later time. In the 

 portrait of Leo X., with the Cardinals de' Medici and Rossi (painted 

 not earlier than 1518), Raffaelle has shown that he could rival the 

 Flemish masters in the accurate imitation of ordinary household 

 objects. The Violin-Player, in the Sciarra palace at Rome, also bears 

 the date of 1518. The portraits of Joanna of Aragon, Baltasar 

 Castiglione, and others, we have not space to dwell on. 



Raffaelle occupied himself with architecture as well as painting, and 

 seems to have felt a zealous interest in all remains of ancient art. The 

 Psyche and the Galatea, executed in the Farnesiua at Rome for 

 Alessandro Chigi, are his principal works which represent mythological 

 subjects. 



On his birthday the 6th of April 1520, being Good Friday, this 

 greatest of all modern painters died of an attack of fever, at the age 

 of thirty-seven. A^ll that is recorded of his public and private charac- 

 ter represents him as most amiable, and as the object of sincere 

 affection on the part of his immediate friends. As an artist he was 

 especially distinguished in two things. In the first place, whatever 

 was the principle of art which he adopted at different periods of his 

 life, in each and all successively he attained the greatest excellence. 

 In his early pictures the spirit of Perugino and of the Umbrian school 

 beamed with double purity and beauty ; but his powers were not 

 limited within the narrow circle which hemmed in his master and 

 caused him to reproduce the same forms and the same expression 

 through the course of a long life. Raffaelle came to Florence at a 

 fortunate moment. The anatomical studies of Leonardo and M. 

 Angelo, and the powers of Masaccio, had exactly provided the fresh 

 food for which his genius was craving. The religious feeling of his 

 earlier works became a little unspiritualised in the worldly city of 

 Florence, but his technical power received a great accession of 

 strength, while his capacity for seizing real life is sufficiently shown 

 by the portrait of Maddalena Doni. His Madonnas at this time lose 

 something of their thoughtful melancholy, and often acquire a smiling 

 character, such as we find in the works of Leonardo. Still his 

 pictures exhibit excellence peculiar to himself. 



In his third period, many persons, like Monsieur Rio (1'Art Chretien) 

 may consider the 'Disputa' as the last gleam of primitive simplicity 

 or beauty. It may be said that thenceforth the Christian painter 

 became paganised by contact with the heathen courts of Julius lit 



