I
physical admiration torrent Urbino
brilliancy inferior fresco Apennines
Raphael of Urbino is called the prince of painters. And a true prince he
was in physical beauty, in graciousness of manner, in kindness of soul,
and in power to command the love and admiration of all people with whom he
came in contact.
It would almost seem that the gentleness of St. Francis himself had fallen
upon him, for Raphael, too, was born among the Apennines near the old town
of Assisi. The rugged mountains still rise hill upon hill to the distant
blue sky. Assisi, almost deserted, may still be visited, and you may stand
in the very house where Raphael was born. You will find it on a steep
hillside in the little town of Urbino.
Urbino is built upon a jutting mountain cliff beneath which is a rushing
torrent. In the far distance one may see on a clear day the blue
Mediterranean. Urbino was once a prosperous town over which a powerful
duke ruled, but now it is a quaint village whose one treasure is the house
on the steep hillside.
Raphael’s father was Giovanni Santi, a painter of some ability. His mother
was the daughter of a rich merchant. Raphael was born April 6, 1483.
No shadow fell across the path of the child until he was eight years
of age. Then a great sorrow befell him. His mother died. His father,
anxious that the child should not miss a mother’s care, married again. His
stepmother treated him with all tenderness, and thus the child grew strong
and beautiful in the bright Italian sunshine and the loving atmosphere of
home.
He had few companions besides his father and mother. He played much in his
father’s studio, and like Angelo learned in babyhood to use the tools of
art which later would bring him renown.
In 1494, while the boy was still young, his second misfortune came. His
father died. Raphael was left under the guardianship of his stepmother and
his father’s brother, a priest.
For a time nothing was done toward his further education. But an uncle who
seemed to realize that the lad had unusual genius for painting at last
gained permission to send him away to a master. He was placed under the
instruction of Perugino, who, it is said, remarked, “Let him be my pupil;
he will soon be my master.”
Raphael remained in the studio of Perugino at Perugia nearly nine years.
Other students were with him who afterwards became great artists.
A master like Perugino would often receive many orders for pictures or
frescoes which he could not execute alone. So the less important work
would be left to students. This not only aided the artist, but it made
it possible for students to show their power. If a young man had unusual
talent, he was sure to seize this opportunity to show his ability and
attract the master’s attention. Raphael’s earliest work was done to assist
Perugino.
After the death of Perugino, Raphael returned for a time to Urbino. Here
he painted for the reigning duke St. George slaying the Dragon and St.
Michael attacking Satan. Both of these pictures are now in the Louvre
gallery at Paris.
But Raphael wanted especially to see the pictures of Angelo and Leonardo,
whose fame had spread to the most remote valleys of the rugged Apennines.
So with a letter of introduction to the ruler of Florence, Raphael in 1504
started upon his travels. His letter, he knew, would insure him a welcome
in Florence at least.
As he walked through the streets of this beautiful city he felt like
a fairy prince in a land of magic. Now he stood beneath the bell tower
which Giotto had designed, now he passed the wonderful bronze gates which
Ghiberti had cast, and now he studied the pictures of Leonardo or Angelo
which were in all the brilliancy of fresh color.
New ideas crowded upon him, new inspiration roused him. He was sure he
could do more, much more, than he had ever dreamed of doing before.
Eagerly he began to paint, and within a few months three Madonnas were
marked with his name. A fresco painting of the Last Supper, which was
probably executed by him this same year, was discovered on the wall of a
convent dining room in 1845.
He had been gone not quite a year when he returned to Urbino to complete
some work which he had before undertaken. The influence of Florence was
seen at once in both color and form. He was a finer artist.
All that northern Italy could offer, Raphael had now seen. But the art of
Rome excelled the art of Florence. Angelo was at that very time hard at
work upon the ceiling frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. Leonardo in Milan
had amazed Italy and the world by his Last Supper. He, too, was soon to be
in Rome. Hither, in 1506, Raphael went.
A young man of handsome, courtly appearance and gracious manners, with
many friends and no enemies, fortune truly favored him! The Pope received
him gladly and soon commissioned him to decorate the hall of the Vatican.
Two of the greatest artists of any age were now working almost side by
side, Michael Angelo and Raphael of Urbino. Often one or the other would
stand by his rival and watch his brush. Yet neither ever spoke. Each
admired the other and each was known to defend the other under the attacks
of inferior artists.