School, but of modern painting itself. We have seen the art carried to a
high degree of perfection by Da Vinci and Bonarruoti, at the beginning
of the sixteenth century, and it is a remarkable fact that the same
period embraces not only Raphael, but also Coreggio, Giorgione, and
Titian, and the most celebrated Venetian painters: so that a man
enjoying the common term of life might have seen the works of all these
illustrious masters. The art in but a few years thus reached a height to
which it had never before attained, and which has never been rivalled,
except in the attempt to imitate these early masters, or to unite in one
style their varied and divided excellences. It seems indeed an ordinary
law of providence, that individuals of consummate genius should be born
and flourish at the same period, or at least at short intervals from
each other, a circumstance of which Velleius Paterculus, after a
diligent investigation, protested he could never discover the real
cause. I observe, he says, men of the same commanding genius making
their appearance together, in the smallest possible space of time; as it
happens in the case of animals of different kinds, which, confined in a
close place, nevertheless each selects its own class, and those of a
kindred race separate themselves from the rest, and unite in the closest
manner. A single age was sufficient to illustrate Tragedy, in the
persons of AEschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides: ancient comedy under
Cratinus, Aristophanes, and Eumolpides; and in like manner the new
comedy under Menander, Diphilus, and Philemon. There appeared few
philosophers of note after the days of Plato and Aristotle, and whoever
has made himself acquainted with Isocrates and his school, is acquainted
with the summit of Grecian eloquence. The same remark applies also to
other countries. The great Roman writers are included under the single
age of Octavius: Leo X. was the Augustus of modern Italy; the reign of
Louis XIV. was the brilliant era of French letters, that of Charles II.
of the English.
This rule applies equally to the fine arts. _Hoc idem_, proceeds
Velleius, _evenisse plastis, pictoribus, sculptoribus, quisquis temporum
institerit notis reperiet, et eminentiam cujusque operis arctissimis
temporum claustris circumdatam._[26] Of this union of men of genius in
the same age, _Causas_, he says, _quum semper requiro, numquam invenio
quas veras confidam_. It seems to him probable that when a man finds
the first station in art occupied by another, he considers it as a post
that has been rightfully seized on, and no longer aspires to the
possession of it, but is humiliated, and contented to follow at a
distance. But this solution I confess does not satisfy my mind. It may
indeed account to us why no other Michelangiolo, or Raffaello, has ever
appeared; but it does not satisfy me why these two, and the others
before mentioned, should all have appeared together in the same age. For
myself, I am of opinion that the age is always influenced by certain
principles, universally adopted both by professors of the art, and by
amateurs: which principles happening at a particular period to be the
most just and accurate of their kind, produce in that age some
supereminent professors, and a number of good ones. These principles
change through the instability of all human affairs, and the age
partakes in the change. I may add, nevertheless, that these happy
periods never occur without the circumstance of a number of princes and
influential individuals rivalling each other in the encouragement of
works of taste; and amidst these there always arise some persons of
commanding genius, who give a bias and tone to art. The history of
sculpture in Athens, a city where munificence and taste went hand in
hand, favours my opinion, and it is further confirmed by this golden
period of Italian art. Nevertheless I do not pretend to give a verdict
on this important question, but leave the decision of it to a more
competent tribunal.
But although it be a matter of difficulty to account for this
developement and union of rare talent at one particular period, we may
however hope to trace the steps of a single individual to excellence;
and I would wish to do so of Raffaello. Nature and fortune seemed to
unite in lavishing their favours on this artist; the first in investing
him with the rarest gifts of genius, the other in adding to these a
singular combination of propitious circumstances. In order to illustrate
our inquiry it will be necessary to observe him from his earliest
years,[27] and to note the progress of his mind. He was born in Urbino
in 1483; and if climate, as seems not improbable, have any influence on
the genius of an artist, I know not a happier spot that could have been
chosen for his birth, than that part of Italy which gave to architecture
a Bramante, supplied the art of painting with a successor to Raffaello
in Baroccio, and bestowed on sculpture the plastic hand of a Brandani,
without referring to many less celebrated, but still deserving artists,
who are the boast of Urbino and her state. The father of this
illustrious artist was Giovanni di Santi,[28] or as he has been commonly
called Giovanni Sanzio, an artist of moderate talents, and who could
contribute but little to the instruction of his son; although it was no
small advantage to have been initiated in a simple style, divested of
mannerism. He made some further progress from studying the works of F.
Carnevale, an artist of great merit, for the times in which he
flourished; and being placed at Perugia, under Pietro, he soon became
master of his style, as Vasari observes, and had then probably already
formed the design of excelling him. I was informed in Citta di Castello,
that at the age of seventeen he painted the picture of S. Nicholas of
Tolentino in the church of the Eremitani. The style was that of
Perugino, but the composition differed from that of the age, being the
throne of our Saviour surrounded by saints. The Beato (beatified saint)
is there represented, while the Virgin and St. Augustine, concealed in
part by a cloud, bind his temples with a crown; there are two angels at
the right hand, and two at the left, graceful, and in different
attitudes; with inscriptions variously folded, on which are inscribed
some words in praise of S. Eremitano. Above is the Eternal Father
surrounded by a majestic choir of angels. The actors of the scene appear
to be in a temple, the pillars of which are ornamented in the minute and
laboured style of Mantegna, and the ancient manner is still perceptible
in the folds of the drapery, though there is an evident improvement in
the design, as in the figure of Satan, who lies under the feet of the
saint. This figure is free from the singular deformity with which the
ancient painters represented him; and has the genuine features of an
Ethiopian. To this picture another of this period may be added in the
church of S. Domenico; a Crucifixion, with two attendant angels; the one
receives in a cup the sacred blood which flows from the right hand, the
other, in two cups, collects that of the left hand and the side; the
weeping mother and disciples contribute their aid, while the Magdalen
and an aged saint kneeling in silence contemplate the solemn mystery;
above is the Deity. These figures might all pass for those of Pietro,
except the Virgin, the beauty of which he never equalled, unless perhaps
in the latter part of his life. Another specimen of this period is
noticed by the Abate Morcelli, (de Stylo Inscript. Latin, p. 476). He
states, that in the possession of Sig. Annibale Maggiori, a nobleman of
Fermo, he saw the picture of a Madonna, raising with both hands a veil
of delicate texture from the holy Infant, as he lies in a cradle asleep.
Nigh at hand is S. Joseph, whose eyes rest in contemplation on the happy
scene, and on his staff the same writer detected an inscription in
extremely minute characters, R. S. V. A. A. XVII. P. _Raphael Sanctius
Urbinas an. aetatis 17 pinxit_. This must have been the first attempt of
the design which he perfected at a more mature age, and which is in the
Treasury of Loreto, where the holy Infant is represented, not in the act
of sleeping, but gracefully stretching out his hand to the Virgin: of
the same epoch I judge the _tondini_ to be, which I shall describe in
the course of a few pages, when I refer to the Madonna della Seggiola.
Vasari informs us, that before executing these two pictures, he had
already painted in Perugia an Assumption in the church of the
Conventuals, with three subjects from the life of Christ in the grado;
which may however be doubted, as it is a more perfect work. This picture
possesses all the best parts of the style of Vannucci; but the varied
expressions which the apostles discover on finding the sepulchre void,
are beyond the reach of that artist's powers. Raffaello still further
excelled his master, as Vasari observes, in the third picture painted
for Citta di Castello. This is the marriage of the Virgin, in the church
of S. Francesco. The composition very much resembles that which he
adopted in a picture of the same subject in Perugia; but there is
sufficient of modern art in it to indicate the commencement of a new
style. The two espoused have a degree of beauty which Raffaello scarcely
surpassed in his mature age, in any other countenances. The Virgin
particularly is a model of celestial beauty. A youthful band festively
adorned accompany her to her espousals; splendour vies with elegance;
the attitudes are engaging, the veils variously arranged, and there is a
mixture of ancient and modern drapery, which at so early a period cannot
be considered as a fault. In the midst of these accompaniments the
principal figure triumphantly appears, not ornamented by the hand of
art, but distinguished by her native nobility, beauty, modesty, and
grace. The first sight of this performance strikes us with astonishment,
and we involuntarily exclaim, how divine and noble the spirit that
animates her heavenly form! The group of the men of the party of S.
Joseph are equally well conceived. In these figures we see nothing of
the stiffness of the drapery, the dryness of execution, and the peculiar
style of Pietro, which sometimes approaches to harshness: all is action,
and an animating spirit breathes in every gesture and in every
countenance. The landscapes are not represented with sterile and
impoverished trees, as in the backgrounds of Pietro; but are drawn from
nature, and finished with care. The round temple in the summit is
ornamented with columns, and executed, Vasari observes, with such
admirable art, that it is wonderful to observe the difficulties he has
willingly incurred. In the distance are beautiful groups, and there is a
figure of a poor man imploring charity depicted to the life, and, more
near, a youth, a figure which proves the artist to have been master of
the then novel art of foreshortening. I have purposely described these
specimens of the early years of Raphael, more particularly than any
other writer, in order to acquaint the reader with the rise of his
divine talents. In the labours of his more mature years, the various
masters whose works he studied may each claim his own; but in his first
flight he was exclusively supported by the vigour of his own talents.
The bent of his genius, which was not less voluptuous and graceful than
it was noble and elevated, led him to that ideal beauty, grace, and
expression, which is the most refined and difficult province of
painting. To insure success in this department neither study nor art is
sufficient. A natural taste for the beautiful, an intellectual faculty
of combining the several excellences of many individuals in one perfect
whole, a vivid apprehension, and a sort of fervour in seizing the sudden
and momentary expressions of passion, a facility of touch, obedient to
the conceptions of the imagination; these were the means which nature
alone could furnish, and these, as we have seen, he possessed from his
earliest years. Whoever ascribes the success of Raffaello to the effects
of study, and not to the felicity of his genius, does not justly
appreciate the gifts which were lavished on him by nature.[29]
He now became the admiration of his master and his fellow scholars; and
about the same time Pinturicchio, after having painted with so much
applause at Rome before Raffaello was born, aspired to become, as it
were, his scholar in the great work at Siena. He did not himself possess
a genius sufficiently elevated for the sublime composition which the
place required; nor had Pietro himself sufficient fertility, or a
conception of mind equal to so novel an undertaking. It was intended to
represent the life and actions of AEneas Silvius Piccolomini, afterwards
Pope Pius II.; the embassies entrusted to him by the council of
Constance to various princes; and by Felix, the antipope, to Frederick
III., who conferred on him the laurel crown; and also the various
embassies which he undertook for Frederick himself to Eugenius IV., and
afterwards to Callistus IV., who created him a Cardinal. His subsequent
exaltation to the Papacy, and the most remarkable events of his reign,
were also to be represented; the canonization of S. Catherine; his
attendance on the Council of Mantua, where he was received in a princely
manner by the Duke; and finally his death, and the removal of his body
from Ancona to Rome. Never perhaps was an undertaking of such magnitude
entrusted to a single master. The art itself had not as yet attempted
any great flight. The principal figures in composition generally stood
isolated, as Pietro exhibited them in Perugia, without aiming at
composition. In consequence of this the proportions were seldom true,
nor did the artists depart much from sacred subjects, the frequent
repetition of which had already opened the way to plagiarism. Historical
subjects of this nature were new to Raffaello, and to him, unaccustomed
to reside in a metropolis, it must have been most difficult, in painting
so many as eleven pictures, to imitate the splendour of different
courts, and as we may say, the manners of all Europe, varying the
composition agreeably to the occasion. Nevertheless, being conducted by
his friend to Siena, he made the sketches and cartoons of _all_ these
subjects, says Vasari in his life of Pinturicchio, and that he made the
sketches of the whole is the common report at Siena. In the life of
Raffaello he states that he made _some of the designs and cartoons for
this work_, and that the reason of his not continuing them, was his
haste to proceed to Florence, to see the cartoons of Da Vinci and
Bonarruoti. But I am more inclined to the first statement of Vasari,
than the subsequent one. In April, 1503, Raffaello was employed in the
Library, as is proved by the will of Cardinal Francesco Piccolomini.[30]
While the Library was yet unfinished, Piccolomini was elected Pope on
the twenty-first day of September; and his coronation following on the
eighth of October, Pinturicchio commemorated the event on the outside of
the Library, in the part opposite to the duomo. Bottari remarks, that in
this facade we may detect not only the design, but in many of the heads
the colouring also of Raffaello. It appears probable therefore that he
remained to complete the work, the last subject of which might perhaps
be finished in the following year, 1504, in which he departed to
Florence. We may here observe, that this work, which has maintained its
colours so well that it almost appears of recent execution, confers
great honour on a young artist of twenty years of age; as we do not find
a composition of such magnitude, in the passage from ancient to modern
art, conceived by any single painter. So that if Raffaello stood not
entirely alone in this work, the best part of it must still be assigned
to him, since Pinturicchio himself was improving at this time, and the
works which he afterwards executed at Spello and Siena itself, incline
more to the modern than any he had before done. This will justify us in
concluding that Raffaello had already, at that early age, far
outstripped his master; his contour being more full, his composition
more rich and free, accompanied by an ornamental and grander style, and
an ability unlimited, and capable of embracing every subject that was
presented to him.
The works which he saw in Florence did not lead him out of his own path,
as, to mention one instance, afterwards happened to Franco, who, coming
from Venice, applied himself to a style of design and a career entirely
new. Raffaello had formed his own system, and only sought examples, to
enlarge his ideas and facilitate his execution. He therefore studied the
works of Masaccio, an elegant and expressive painter, whose Adam and Eve
he afterwards adopted in the Vatican. He also became acquainted with Fra
Bartolommeo, who, about this time, had returned to the exercise of his
profession. To this artist he taught the principles of perspective, and
acquired from him, in return, a better style of colouring. We have not
any record to prove that he made himself known to Da Vinci; and the
portrait of Raffaello, in the ducal gallery in Florence, which is said
to be by Lionardo, is an unknown head. I would willingly, however,
flatter myself, that a congeniality of mind and an affinity of genius,
emulous in the pursuit of perfection, must have produced a knowledge of
each other, if it did not conciliate a mutual attachment. No one
certainly was more capable than Da Vinci, of communicating to Raffaello
a degree of refinement and knowledge, which he could not have received
from Pietro; and to introduce him into the more subtle views of art. As
to Michelangiolo, his pictures were rare, and less analogous to the
genius of Raffaello. His celebrated Cartoon was not yet finished, in
1504, and that great master was jealous of its being seen, before its
entire completion. He finished it some few years afterwards, when he
returned to Florence on his flight from Rome, occasioned by the anger of
Julius II. Raffaello therefore could not have had the opportunity of
studying it at that time, nor did he then long remain in Florence, for,
as Vasari states, he was soon obliged to return to his native place, in
consequence of the death of his parents.[31] In 1505 we find him in
Perugia: and to this year belongs the chapel of S. Severo, and the
Crucifixion, which was severed from the wall, and preserved by the Padri
Camaldolensi. From these works, which are all in fresco, we may
ascertain the style which he acquired in Florence; and I think we may
assert, that it was not anatomical, no traces of it being visible in the
body of the Redeemer, which was an opportunity well adapted for the
exhibition of it. Nor was it the study of the beautiful, of which he had
previously exhibited such delightful specimens; nor that of expression,
as there were not to be found in Florence, heads more expressive and
lovely than those he had painted. But after his visit to Florence, we
find his colouring more delicate, and his grouping and the
foreshortening of his figures improved; whether or not he owed it to the
example of Da Vinci or Bonarruoti, or both together, or to some of the
older masters. He afterwards repaired to Florence, but soon quitted it
again, in order to paint in the church of S. Francis, in Perugia, a dead
Christ entombed, the cartoon of which he had designed at Florence; and
which picture was first placed in the church of S. Francis, was
afterwards, in the pontificate of Paul V., transferred to Rome, and is
now in the Borghese palace. After this he returned again to Florence,
and remained there until his departure for Rome, at the end of the year
1508. In this interval, more particularly, he executed the works which
are said to be in his second style, though it is a very delicate matter
to attempt to point them out. Vasari assigns to this period the Holy
Family in the Rinuccini gallery, and yet it bears the date of 1506. Of
this second style is undoubtedly the picture of the Madonna and the
infant Christ and S. John, in a beautiful landscape, with ruins in the
distance, which is in the gallery of the Grand Duke, and others, some of
which are to be found in foreign countries. His pictures of this period
are composed in the more usual style of a Madonna, accompanied by
saints, like the picture of the Pitti palace, formerly at Pescia, and
that of S. Fiorenzo in Perugia, which passed into England. The
attitudes, however, the air of the heads, and smaller features of
composition, are beyond a common style. The dead Christ above mentioned,
is in a more novel and superior style. Vasari calls it a most divine
picture; the figures are not numerous; but each fulfils perfectly the
part assigned to it; the subject is most affecting; the heads are
remarkably beautiful, and the earliest of the kind in the restoration of
art, while the expression of profound sorrow and extreme anguish does
not divest them of their beauty. After finishing this work, Raphael was
ambitious of painting an apartment in Florence, one, I believe, of the
Palazzo Pubblico. There remains a letter of his, in which he requests
the Duke of Urbino to write to the Gonfaloniere Soderini, in April,
1508.[32] But his relative, Bramante, procured him a nobler employ in
Rome, recommending him to Julius II. to ornament the Vatican. He removed
thither, and was already established there in the September of the same
year.[33]
We at length, then, behold him fixed in Rome, and placed in the Vatican
at a period, and under circumstances calculated to render him the first
painter in the world. His biographers do not mention his literary
attainments; and, if we were to judge from his letter just cited, and
now in the Museo Borgia, we might consider him grossly illiterate. But
he was then writing to his uncle; and therefore made use of his native
dialect, as is still done even in the public acts in Venice; though he
might be master of, and might use on proper occasions, a more correct
language. Raffaello, too, was of a family fully competent to afford him
the necessary instructions in his early years. Other letters of his are
found in the _Lettere Pittoriche_, in a very different style; and of his
knowledge in matters of importance, it is sufficient to refer to what
Celio Calcagnini, an eminent literary character of the age of Leo,
states of him to Giacomo Zieglero: "I need not," he says, "mention
Vitruvius, whose precepts he not only explains, but defends or impugns
with evident justice, and with so much temper, that in his objections
there does not appear the slightest asperity. He has excited the
admiration of the Pontiff Leo, and of all the Romans, in such a way,
that they regard him as a man sent down from heaven purposely to restore
the eternal city to its ancient splendour."[34] This acknowledged skill
in architecture must suppose an adequate acquaintance with the Latin
language and geometry; and we know from other quarters, that he
assiduously cultivated anatomy, history, and poetry.[35] But his
principal pursuit in Rome was the study of the remains of Grecian
genius, and by which he perfected his knowledge of art. He studied, too,
the ancient buildings, and was instructed in the principles of
architecture for six years by Bramante, in order that on his death he
might succeed him in the management of the building of S. Peter.[36] He
lived among the ancient sculptors, and derived from them not only their
contours and drapery, and attitudes, but the spirit and principles of
the art itself. Nor yet content with what he saw in Rome, he employed
artists to copy the remains of antiquity at Pozzuolo and throughout all
Italy, and even in Greece. Nor did he derive less assistance from living
artists whom he consulted on his compositions. "The universal esteem
which he enjoyed,"[37] and his attractive person and engaging manners,
which all accounts unite in describing as incomparable, conciliated him
the favour of the most eminent men of letters of his age; and Bembo,
Castiglione, Giovio, Navagero, Ariosto, Aretino, Fulvio, and Calcagnini,
set a high value on his friendship, and supplied him, we may be allowed
to suppose, with hints and ideas for his works.