Stlukesguild

With the completion of the paintings for the Stanzas in the Vatican, Raphael's began to broaden his interests and his efforts. He began to apply himself seriously in many fields in a manner that would soon make him one of he wealthiest and most well-respected (and well-connected) artists of the period. He formed something of a partnership with the engraver, Marcantonio Raimondi, who began to produce engraved copies of his paintings, such as his St. Cecilia:





St. Cecilia was an ideal image for mass production (or what passed for mass production at the time), being a favorite and the patron saint of music. Raphael even began to provide Raimondi with designs... finished original drawings... from which he might produce unique prints (as opposed to copies of paintings) in the manner of the great German print master, Albrecht Durer:



Raphael's growing interest in literature and in classical studies (the history, literature, and art of the Greeks and Romans) inspired his print Quos Ego in which the artist illustrated several narratives from The Aeneid:



One of the results of his studies of the arts of the classical world was the decoration of the Loggia and the Bathroom of Cardinal Bibbiena which were painted in such a manner as to mimic the appearance of ancient Roman wall paintings... only recently uncovered in various archeological surveys of ancient Roman architecture:





Raphael even began to put his efforts forth into the field of architecture. For a short while he was given the position of Chief Architect of St. Peter's along with Antonio da Sangallo the Younger who had worked with Michelangelo upon the Farnese Palace. Few of his architectural projects were brought to completion, but he is credited with one major work, the Palazzo Pandolfini:



The strongest works of Raphael's later years, however, were almost certainly his portraits. Not only were these praised as being "more like him than he is like himself," but they also provide a view of many of the power-brokers of the era... and their popularity and success with the rich and powerful most definitely increased demand (and the price) for Raphael's work and placed him among the inner-circle of not only the wealthiest and most powerful... but also the leading intellectuals of his day.

Among the great portraits of these years there is the marvelous Portrait of Tomasso Inghirami, the artist's amiable friend and unassuming scholar:



Two versions were painted of this painting (only one of which still exists), one held in the Inghirami family, the other in the collection of the Medici family.

Another painting of a cardinal is thought to be a Portrait of Cardinal Bibbiena, for whom Raphael had designed and painted the ancient Roman-styled decorations:



Both paintings show an attention to surface texture, details, and the individuality of the sitters to such an extent that they suggest an awareness and an admiration of the work of Northern Renaissance masters such as Van Eyck, Durer, and Hans Holbein.

The Portrait of Leo X shows the muscular and powerful figure of Pope Leo X flanked by two cardinals who are almost pushed out of the picture by Leo's bulk... and his intense expression of energetic alertness:



A double portrait, commonly referred to as the Portrait of the Artist and his Fencing Master, is thought to present an image of Raphael himself (left) with his friend and fencing master... suggestive of the nature of the artist as the true "Renaissance Man"... skilled in mind and body... and a virtual courtier... an aristocrat if not by birth, then by talent. Fencing... the very use and training in the use of weapons was something that had long been reserved to the aristocracy... but with the Renaissance we begin to see the concept of the earned "nobility".



The most important portrait of Rapahel's entire career is almost certainly the Portrait of Baldasare Castiglione, the author of The Book of the Courtier, which remains the definitive account of Renaissance court life. The work defines the expectations of the courtier: having a warrior spirit, athletic, with a good knowledge of the humanities, Classics and fine arts. Castiglione also argued that true "nobility" was something that needed to be earned. The aristocrat might earn such through success in administration, military success... or through patronage of the arts and culture. The non-aristocrat (such as artists, writers, philosophers, etc...) might earn a degree of nobility through success in their endeavors.



Raphael's painting of Castiglione brilliantly captures his intelligent gaze in his limpid blue eyes. The painting is incredibly simple; there is nothing superfluous... yet nothing is lacking. With the the most facile... almost effortless handling of paint the artist suggests his clasped hands... almost out of the picture... and the aristocratic nonchalance of Castiglione's cloak thrown over his shoulder, his jaunty hat, tilted to one side (and perfectly disguising the one flaw of which he was so self-conscious: his baldness). Raphael's portrait would stand as a major inspiration for countless artists. Titian, Giorgione, and any number of other contemporary painters built upon it. A century or so after it was painted, the young Rembrandt van Rijn would be so impressed as to make a sketch after the work:



At the end of his life, Rembrandt would remember Raphael's painting and it would inspire one of the most profound self-portraits in the whole of art history, the Self Portrait, 1669 (in the National Gallery, Washington):



The irony of this, Raphael's most iconic and influential painting... is that it is itself clearly the product of an earlier source: the young Raphael's hero, Leonardo da Vinci's La Gioconda (or Mona Lisa)...



...which the youthful Raphael had himself copied in sketch:



Next: Raphael the Final Years