the Chigi, and the design for the chapel of the aforesaid Agostino
in S. Maria del Popolo, wherein, besides painting it, he made
arrangements for the erection of a marvellous tomb, causing
Lorenzetto, a sculptor of Florence, to execute two figures, which
are still in his house in the Macello de' Corbi at Rome; but the
death of Raffaello, followed by that of Agostino, brought it about
that this work was given to Sebastiano Viniziano.
Meanwhile Raffaello had risen to such greatness, that Leo X ordained
that he should set to work on the Great Hall on the upper floor,
wherein are the Victories of Constantine; and with this he made a
beginning. A fancy likewise took the Pope to have some very rich
tapestries made in gold and floss-silk; whereupon Raffaello drew and
coloured with his own hand, of the exact form and size, all the
cartoons, which were sent to Flanders to be woven; and the
tapestries, when finished, were brought to Rome. This work was
executed so marvellously, that it arouses astonishment in whoever
beholds it, wondering how it could have been possible to weave the
hair and beards in such detail, and to give softness to the flesh
with mere threads; and it is truly rather a miracle than the work of
human art, seeing that in these tapestries are animals, water, and
buildings, all made in such a way that they seem to be not woven,
but really wrought with the brush. The work cost 70,000 crowns, and
it is still preserved in the Papal Chapel.
For Cardinal Colonna he painted a S. John on canvas, for which, on
account of its beauty, that Cardinal had an extraordinary love; but
happening to be attacked by illness, he was asked by Messer Jacopo
da Carpi, the physician who cured him, to give it to him as a
present; and because of this desire of Messer Jacopo, to whom he
felt himself very deeply indebted, he gave it up. It is now in the
possession of Francesco Benintendi, in Florence.
[Illustration: THE TRANSFIGURATION
(_After the panel by =Raffaello da Urbino=. Rome: The Vatican_)
_Anderson_]
For Giulio de' Medici, Cardinal and Vice-Chancellor, he painted a
panel-picture, to be sent into France, of the Transfiguration of
Christ, at which he laboured without ceasing, and brought it to the
highest perfection with his own hand. In this scene he represented
Christ Transfigured on Mount Tabor, at the foot of which are the
eleven Disciples awaiting Him. There may be seen a young man
possessed by a spirit, who has been brought thither in order that
Christ, after descending from the mountain, may deliver him; which
young man stretches himself out in a distorted attitude, crying
and rolling his eyes, and reveals his suffering in his flesh, his
veins, and the beat of his pulse, all infected by that malignant
spirit; and the colour of his flesh, as he makes those violent and
fearsome gestures, is very pale. This figure is supported by an old
man, who, having embraced him and taken heart, with his eyes wide
open and the light shining in them, is raising his brows and
wrinkling his forehead, showing at one and the same time both
strength and fear; gazing intently, however, at the Apostles, he
appears to be encouraging himself by trusting in them. Among many
women is one, the principal figure in that panel, who, having knelt
down before the Apostles, and turning her head towards them,
stretches her arms in the direction of the maniac and points out his
misery; besides which the Apostles, some standing, some seated, and
others kneeling, show that they are moved to very great compassion
by such misfortune. And, indeed, he made therein figures and heads
so fine in their novelty and variety, to say nothing of their
extraordinary beauty, that it is the common opinion of all craftsmen
that this work, among the vast number that he painted, is the most
glorious, the most lovely, and the most divine. For whoever wishes
to know how Christ Transfigured and made Divine should be
represented in painting, must look at this work, wherein Raffaello
made Him in perspective over that mount, in a sky of exceeding
brightness, with Moses and Elias, who, illumined by a dazzling
splendour, burst into life in His light. Prostrate on the ground, in
attitudes of great beauty and variety, are Peter, James, and John;
one has his head to the earth, and another, shading his eyes with
his hands, is defending himself from the rays and intense light of
the splendour of Christ. He, clothed in snow-white raiment, with His
arms outstretched and His head raised, appears to reveal the Divine
essence and nature of all the Three Persons united and concentrated
in Himself by the perfect art of Raffaello, who seems to have
summoned up all his powers in such a manner, in order to show the
supreme force of his art in the countenance of Christ, that, after
finishing this, the last work that he was to do, he never again
touched a brush, being overtaken by death.
[Illustration: RAFFAELLO DA URBINO: THE THREE GRACES
(_Chantilly, 38. Panel_)]
Now, having described the works of this most excellent craftsman,
before I come to relate other particulars of his life and death, I
do not wish to grudge the labour of saying something, for the
benefit of the men of our arts, about the various manners of
Raffaello. He, then, after having imitated in his boyhood the manner
of his master, Pietro Perugino, which he made much better in
draughtsmanship, colouring, and invention, believed that he had done
enough; but he recognized, when he had reached a riper age, that he
was still too far from the truth. For, after seeing the works of
Leonardo da Vinci, who had no peer in the expressions of heads both
of men and of women, and surpassed all other painters in giving
grace and movement to his figures, he was left marvelling and
amazed; and in a word, the manner of Leonardo pleasing him more than
any other that he had ever seen, he set himself to study it, and
abandoning little by little, although with great difficulty, the
manner of Pietro, he sought to the best of his power and knowledge
to imitate that of Leonardo. But for all his diligence and study, in
certain difficulties he was never able to surpass Leonardo; and
although it appears to many that he did surpass him in sweetness and
in a kind of natural facility, nevertheless he was by no means
superior to him in that sublime groundwork of conceptions and that
grandeur of art in which few have been the peers of Leonardo. Yet
Raffaello came very near to him, more than any other painter, and
above all in grace of colouring. But to return to Raffaello himself;
in time he found himself very much hindered and impeded by the
manner that he had adopted from Pietro when he was quite young,
which he acquired with ease, since it was over-precise, dry, and
feeble in draughtsmanship. His being unable to forget it was the
reason that he had great difficulty in learning the beauties of the
nude and the methods of difficult foreshortenings from the cartoon
that Michelagnolo Buonarroti made for the Council Hall in Florence;
and another might have lost heart, believing that he had been
previously wasting his time, and would never have achieved, however
lofty his genius, what Raffaello accomplished. But he, having purged
himself of Pietro's manner, and having thoroughly freed himself of
it, in order to learn the manner of Michelagnolo, so full of
difficulties in every part, was changed, as it were, from a master
once again into a disciple; and he forced himself with incredible
study, when already a man, to do in a few months what might have
called for the tender age at which all things are best acquired, and
for a space of many years. For in truth he who does not learn in
good time right principles and the manner that he wishes to follow,
and does not proceed little by little to solve the difficulties of
the arts by means of experience, seeking to understand every part,
and to put it into practice, can scarcely ever become perfect; and
even if he does, that can only be after a longer space of time and
much greater labour.
When Raffaello resolved to set himself to change and improve his
manner, he had never given his attention to nudes with that zealous
study which is necessary, and had only drawn them from life in the
manner that he had seen practised by his master Pietro, imparting to
them the grace that he had from nature. He then devoted himself to
studying the nude and to comparing the muscles of anatomical subjects
and of flayed human bodies with those of the living, which, being
covered with skin, are not clearly defined, as they are when the skin
has been removed; and going on to observe in what way they acquire the
softness of flesh in the proper places, and how certain graceful
flexures are produced by changing the point of view, and also the
effect of inflating, lowering, or raising either a limb or the whole
person, and likewise the concatenation of the bones, nerves, and
veins, he became excellent in all the points that are looked for in a
painter of eminence. Knowing, however, that in this respect he could
never attain to the perfection of Michelagnolo, he reflected, like a
man of supreme judgment, that painting does not consist only in
representing the nude human form, but has a wider field; that one can
enumerate among the perfect painters those who express historical
inventions well and with facility, and who show fine judgment in their
fancies; and that he who, in the composition of scenes, can make them
neither confused with too much detail nor poor with too little, but
distributed with beautiful invention and order, may also be called an
able and judicious craftsman. To this, as Raffaello was well aware,
may be added the enriching those scenes with a bizarre variety of
perspectives, buildings, and landscapes, the method of clothing
figures gracefully, the making them fade away sometimes in the
shadows, and sometimes come forward into the light, the imparting of
life and beauty to the heads of women, children, young men and old,
and the giving them movement and boldness, according to necessity. He
considered, also, how important is the furious flight of horses in
battles, fierceness in soldiers, the knowledge how to depict all the
sorts of animals, and above all the power to give such resemblance to
portraits that they seem to be alive, and that it is known whom they
represent; with an endless number of other things, such as the
adornment of draperies, foot-wear, helmets, armour, women's
head-dresses, hair, beards, vases, trees, grottoes, rocks, fires,
skies turbid or serene, clouds, rain, lightning, clear weather, night,
the light of the moon, the splendour of the sun, and innumerable other
things, which are called for every moment by the requirements of the
art of painting. Pondering over these things, I say, Raffaello
resolved, since he could not approach Michelagnolo in that branch of
art to which he had set his hand, to seek to equal, and perchance to
surpass him, in these others; and he devoted himself, therefore, not
to imitating the manner of that master, but to the attainment of a
catholic excellence in the other fields of art that have been
described. And if the same had been done by many craftsmen of our own
age, who, having determined to pursue the study of Michelagnolo's
works alone, have failed to imitate him and have not been able to
reach his extraordinary perfection, they would not have laboured in
vain nor acquired a manner so hard, so full of difficulty, wanting in
beauty and colouring, and poor in invention, but would have been able,
by aiming at catholicity and at imitation in the other fields of art,
to render service both to themselves and to the world.
Raffaello, then, having made this resolution, and having recognized
that Fra Bartolommeo di San Marco had a passing good method of
painting, well-grounded draughtsmanship, and a pleasing manner of
colouring, although at times, in order to obtain stronger relief, he
made too much use of darks, took from him what appeared to him to
suit his need and his fancy--namely, a middle course, both in
drawing and in colouring; and mingling with that method certain
others selected from the best work of other masters, out of many
manners he made one, which was looked upon ever afterwards as his
own, and which was and always will be vastly esteemed by all
craftsmen. This was then seen perfected in the Sibyls and Prophets
of the work that he executed, as has been related, in S. Maria della
Pace; in the carrying out of which work he was greatly assisted by
having seen the paintings of Michelagnolo in the Chapel of the Pope.
And if Raffaello had remained content with this same manner, and had
not sought to give it more grandeur and variety in order to prove
that he had as good a knowledge of the nude as Michelagnolo, he
would not have lost a part of the good name that he had acquired;
but the nudes that he made in that apartment of the Borgia Tower
where there is the Burning of the Borgo, although they are fine, are
not in every way excellent. In like manner, those that were painted
likewise by him on the ceiling of the Palace of Agostino Chigi in
the Trastevere did not give complete satisfaction, for they are
wanting in that grace and sweetness which were peculiar to
Raffaello; the reason of which, in great part, was the circumstance
that he had them coloured by others after his design. However,
repenting of this error, like a man of judgment, he resolved
afterwards to execute by himself, without assistance from others,
the panel-picture of the Transfiguration of Christ that is in S.
Pietro a Montorio, wherein are all those qualities which, as has
already been described, are looked for and required in a good
picture. And if he had not employed in this work, as it were from
caprice, printer's smoke-black, the nature of which, as has been
remarked many times, is to become ever darker with time, to the
injury of the other colours with which it is mixed, I believe that
the picture would still be as fresh as when he painted it; whereas
it now appears to be rather a mass of shadows than aught else.
I have thought fit, almost at the close of this Life, to make this
discourse, in order to show with what labour, study, and diligence
this honoured craftsman always pursued his art; and even more for
the sake of other painters, to the end that they may learn how to
avoid those hindrances from which the wisdom and genius of Raffaello
were able to deliver him. I must add this as well, that every man
should be satisfied and contented with doing that work to which he
feels himself drawn by a natural inclination, and should not seek,
out of emulation, to put his hand to that for which nature has not
adapted him; for otherwise he will labour in vain, and often to his
own shame and loss. Moreover, where striving is enough, no man
should aim at super-striving,[27] merely in order to surpass those
who, by some great gift of nature, or by some special grace bestowed
on them by God, have performed or are performing miracles in art;
for the reason that he who is not suited to any particular work, can
never reach, let him labour as he may, the goal to which another,
with the assistance of nature, has attained with ease. Of this,
among the old craftsmen, we may see an example in Paolo Uccello,
who, striving against the limitations of his powers, in order to
advance, did nothing but go backwards. The same has been done in our
own day, no long time since, by Jacopo da Pontormo, and it has been
proved by the experience of many others, as we have shown before and
will point out yet again. And this, perchance, happens because
Heaven always distributes its favours, to the end that every man may
rest content with that which falls to him.
But now, having discoursed on these matters of art, perchance at
greater length than was needful, let us return to the life and death
of Raffaello. He had a strait friendship with Cardinal Bernardo
Divizio of Bibbiena, who had importuned him for many years to take a
wife of his choosing; and Raffaello, while not directly refusing to
obey the wishes of the Cardinal, had yet put the matter off, saying
that he would rather wait till three or four years had passed. This
term came upon Raffaello when he was not expecting it, and he was
reminded by the Cardinal of his promise; whereupon, seeing himself
bound, like the courteous man that he was, he would not break his
word, and thus accepted as his wife a niece of that Cardinal. And
because he was always very ill content with this entanglement, he
continued to delay the matter in such a way that many months passed
without the marriage being brought to pass. But it was with no
dishonourable motive that he did this, for, having been so many
years in the service of the Court, and being the creditor of Leo
for a good sum, it had been hinted to him that when the hall on
which he was engaged was finished, the Pope proposed to reward him
for his labours and abilities by giving him a red hat, of which he
had already determined to distribute a good number, and some of them
to men of less merit than Raffaello.
Meanwhile, pursuing his amours in secret, Raffaello continued to
divert himself beyond measure with the pleasures of love; whence it
happened that, having on one occasion indulged in more than his
usual excess, he returned to his house in a violent fever. The
physicians, therefore, believing that he had overheated himself, and
receiving from him no confession of the excess of which he had been
guilty, imprudently bled him, insomuch that he was weakened and felt
himself sinking; for he was in need rather of restoratives.
Thereupon he made his will: and first, like a good Christian, he
sent his mistress out of the house, leaving her the means to live
honourably. Next, he divided his possessions among his disciples,
Giulio Romano, whom he had always loved dearly, and the Florentine
Giovanni Francesco, called Il Fattore, with a priest of Urbino, his
kinsman, whose name I do not know. Then he gave orders that some of
his wealth should be used for restoring with new masonry one of the
ancient tabernacles in S. Maria Ritonda, and for making an altar,
with a marble statue of Our Lady, in that church, which he chose as
his place of repose and burial after death; and he left all the rest
to Giulio and Giovanni Francesco, appointing as executor of his will
Messer Baldassarre da Pescia, then Datary to the Pope. Finally, he
confessed and was penitent, and ended the course of his life at the
age of thirty-seven, on the same day that he was born, which was
Good Friday. And even as he embellished the world with his talents,
so, it may be believed, does his soul adorn Heaven by its presence.
As he lay dead in the hall where he had been working, there was
placed at his head the picture of the Transfiguration, which he had
executed for Cardinal de' Medici; and the sight of that living
picture, in contrast with the dead body, caused the hearts of all
who beheld it to burst with sorrow. That work, in memory of the loss
of Raffaello, was placed by the Cardinal on the high-altar of S.
Pietro a Montorio; and on account of the nobility of his every
action, it was held ever afterwards in great estimation. His body
received that honourable burial which his noble spirit had deserved,
for there was no craftsman who did not weep with sorrow and follow
him to the grave. His death was also a great grief to the whole
Court of the Pope, first because he had held in his lifetime the
office of Groom of the Chamber, and likewise because he had been so
dear to the Pope that his loss caused him to weep bitterly.
[Illustration: RAFAELLO SANZIO: BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE
(_Paris: Louvre, 1505. Canvas_)]
O happy and blessed spirit, in that every man is glad to speak of
thee, to celebrate thy actions, and to admire every drawing that
thou didst leave to us! When this noble craftsman died, the art of
painting might well have died also, seeing that when he closed his
eyes, she was left as it were blind. And now for us who have
survived him, it remains to imitate the good, nay, the supremely
excellent method bequeathed to us by him as a pattern, and, as is
called for by his merit and our obligations, to hold a most grateful
remembrance of this in our minds, and to pay the highest honour to
his memory with our lips. For in truth we have from him art,
colouring, and invention harmonized and brought to such a pitch of
perfection as could scarcely be hoped for; nor may any intellect
ever think to surpass him. And in addition to this benefit that he
conferred on art, like a true friend to her, as long as he lived he
never ceased to show how one should deal with great men, with those
of middle station, and with the lowest. And, indeed, among his
extraordinary gifts, I perceive one of such value that I for my part
am amazed at it, in that Heaven gave him the power to produce in our
art an effect wholly contrary to the nature of us painters, which
was that our craftsmen--I do not mean only the lesser, but also
those whose humour it was to be great persons; and of this humour
art creates a vast number--while working in company with Raffaello,
felt themselves naturally united and in such accord, that all evil
humours vanished at the sight of him, and every vile and base
thought fell away from their minds. Such unity was never greater at
any other time than his; and this happened because they were
overcome both by his courtesy and by his art, and even more by the
good disposition of his nature, which was so full of gentleness and
so overflowing with loving-kindness, that it was seen that the very
animals, not to speak of men, honoured him. It is said that if
any painter who knew him, and even any who did not know him, asked
him for some drawing that he needed, Raffaello would leave his own
work in order to assist him. And he always kept a vast number of
them employed, aiding them and teaching them with such a love as
might have been the due rather of his own children than of
fellow-craftsmen; for which reason he was never seen to go to Court
without having with him, as he left his house, some fifty painters,
all able and excellent, who kept him company in order to do him
honour. In short, he lived not like a painter, but like a prince.
Wherefore, O art of painting, thou couldst then esteem thyself
indeed most blessed, in possessing a craftsman who, both with his
genius and his virtues, exalted thee higher than Heaven! Truly happy
mightest thou call thyself, in that thy disciples, following in the
footsteps of so great a man, have seen how life should be lived, and
how important is the union of art and virtue, which, wedded in
Raffaello, had strength to prevail on the magnificent Julius II and
the magnanimous Leo X, exalted as they were in rank and dignity, to
make him their most intimate friend and show him all possible
generosity, insomuch that by their favour and by the wealth that
they bestowed upon him, he was enabled to do vast honour both to
himself and to art. Blessed, also, may be called all those who,
employed in his service, worked under him, since whoever imitated
him found that he had reached an honourable haven; and in like
manner all those who imitate his labours in art will be honoured by
the world, even as, by resembling him in uprightness of life, they
will win rewards from Heaven.
Raffaello received from Bembo the following epitaph:
D. O. M.
RAPHAELLI SANCTIO JOAN. F. URBINAT.
PICTORI EMINENTISS. VETERUMQUE ÆMULO,
CUJUS SPIRANTEIS PROPE IMAGINEIS
SI CONTEMPLERE,
NATURÆ ATQUE ARTIS FOEDUS
FACILE INSPEXERIS.
JULII II ET LEONIS X PONTT. MAXX.
PICTURÆ ET ARCHITECT. OPERIBUS
GLORIAM AUXIT.
VIXIT AN. XXXVII, INTEGER, INTEGROS.
QUO DIE NATUS EST, EO ESSE DESIIT,
VIII ID. APRIL. MDXX.
ILLE HIC EST RAPHAEL, TIMUIT QUO SOSPITE VINCI
RERUM MAGNA PARENS, ET MORIENTE MORI.
And Count Baldassarre Castiglione wrote of his death in the
following manner:
Quod lacerum corpus medica sanaverit arte,
Hyppolitum Stygiis et revocarit aquis,
Ad Stygias ipse est raptus Epidaurius undas;
Sic precium vitæ mors fuit artifici.
Tu quoque dum toto laniatam corpore Romam
Componis miro, Raphael, ingenio,
Atque urbis lacerum ferro, igni, annisque cadaver,
Ad vitam antiquum jam revocasque decus,
Movisti superum invidiam, indignataque mors est
Te dudum extinctis reddere posse animam,
Et quod longa dies paulatim aboleverat, hoc te
Mortali spreta lege parare iterum.
Sic, miser, heu, prima cadis intercepte juventa,
Deberi et morti nostraque nosque mones.
FOOTNOTE:
[23] In the Life of Pinturicchio, Vasari says that this
commission was given to Pinturicchio by Cardinal Francesco
Piccolomini, who afterwards became Pope Pius III.