Diplomatic World_69

THE DIVINE RAPHAEL
Univ. Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Jan DE MAERE
Giorgio Vasari opens his biography about the Italian Renaissance
painter and architect, the ‘divine’ Raphael (1483-1520), by
describing his multifarious wide-ranging talents and astonishing
achievement:’ The liberality with which Heaven now and again
unites in one person the inexhaustible riches of its treasures and
all those graces and rare gifts which are usually shared among
many over a long period, is seen in Raphael Sanzio of Urbino’.
At the time, such a genial versatility was not uncommon, but his
eye for the most talented collaborators and craftsmen to follow
his designs was unerringly flawless and underpinned his astonishing
organized productivity. His talent for delegation of creation
and quality control in his studio guaranteed its exceptional varied
output. He was a collector, an antiquarian, the superintendent
of Rome’s antiquities, imagining the graphic reconstruction of
Ancient Rome. Without the Roman experience, Raphael would
not have become the revered figure who came to dominate
centuries of Western art.
came the hero of the Poussinists, who believed, as Raphael did,
in the Platonic idea of the existence of ‘a mind-born ideal form
related to a higher level of understanding’, seen as a shadow of
the ‘anima’ (Plato, Allegory of the Cave). Therefore, they considered
colour only as a decorative addition to ‘disegno’, lines
to depict ideal form. Charles Le Brun was their leader. His hero
was Raphael and in the same line of thought, the syphilis ridden
Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665), whose stoical-intellectual work
exemplified this philosophy, based on the ideal of classical Form
in Antiquity. Poussin’s cold approach contrasted strongly with the
fine sensibility and delicate intimacy of Raphael’s series of ‘Virgin
and Child’, as a feminine ideal of grace and beauty in the line of
these in Petrarch’s poems. Also, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
(1780-1867) brought to the fore the abstract clarity of classical
form in his ‘Vow of Louis XIII’ (1824, Musée Ingres, Montauban).
Even if ‘disegno’ was the base of Raphael’s art, it was imbedded
in his universal genius.
La Donna Velata, detail, canvas 82 x 60,5 cm (c. 1513-14) © Palazzo Pitti inv 1912 n° 245
HIS LEGACY
The Rubenists believed that colour, not drawing, was superior as
it was closer to nature. They prioritised the depiction of nature
and strong emotional expression over the imitation of classical
THE EXHIBITIONS
towards his upbringing as the son of a court painter in Urbino.
It addressed the different influences which shaped his style, his
In a 20-year career, harnessed to a fierce ambition, he reshaped
art. They argued that painting should deceive the eye and en-
Two exhibitions shed new light on Raphael’s genius. One in
admiration for artists such as Perugino, Masaccio, Donatello,
Western art more than any other artist before and since. Raphael
gage the senses of all. In the early 18th century, this had revolu-
2020 braved the pandemic but it had to close after 4 days in the
della Robia, and Leonardo (as we see in Raphael’s ‘Dame with
himself is blameless for the dull sterility, often expressed in the
tionary political connotations as their art addressed everybody’s
Scuderia del Quirinale (Rome). It focused on the triumph of his
a Unicorn’), and his talented roster of pupils working under his
academic tradition by his followers over centuries.
emotion and not only that of an elite. It challenged the idea that
Roman years and was completed by an exhibition in the Galleria
command. In London, the curators applied a strict timeline and
had held sway since the Raphael’s time that painting, as an’ Ars
dell’ Uffizi (Firenze) with a broader perspective. In Rome, the
concentrated only on Raphael’s own creative design and the way
Rubens and Raphael created unique, instantly recognisable
liberalis’, could only be appreciated by the well-educated mind.
exhibition opened with a life-size facsimile of Raphael’s tomb in
how he delegated creation. From his youth on, he always made
paintings. The two artists, separated from each other by a cen-
the Pantheon, built with cutting-edge technologies and destined
drawings for paintings by other artists and artisans. His well-
tury, might not at first seem comparable, but both were analo-
The debate was about whether it was acceptable to paint
to find a home in Urbino”. It bears the inscription: “Here lies
planned elegant drawings of exceptional quality and their con-
gous thinkers and had comparable working methods and studio
purely in order to give pleasure to the viewer without the nobler
Raphael, by whom nature herself feared to be outdone while he
nection with the final work, give a stunning insight in the complex
organization. The different stages in both artists’ development
purposes typical of a ‘history’ painting. In 1672, Charles Le
lived, and when he died, feared that she herself would die”.
mind of this all-time great.
are a result of travel and exposure to novelty. Raphael’s career
Brun, Chancellor of the French Academy, held the argument that
can be seen in three geographical moves: Urbino/Siena/Perugia
(1483-1504); Florence (1504-08); and finaly Rome (1508-20).
Rubens’ work develops in a similar phases of travel, exposure
“the function of colour is to satisfy the eyes, whereas drawing
satisfies the mind.” Roger de Piles favoured the colourists in
his 1673 Dialogue sur le Coloris (Dialogue on Colour), and his
Another exhibition this summer in the National Gallery London,
originally due in 2020, the fifth century anniversary of Raphael’s
death, was rescheduled this year because of Covid-19. The
LIFE & ART
and appropriation. At each stage he studied the works of Titian,
1677 Conversations sur la Peinture (Conversations on Painting).
show places the artist’s visual thinking and conceptual processes
Raphael was born Raffaello Sanzio on April 6, 1483, in Urbino,
Veronese, Tintoretto, Elsheimer, Michelangelo, Raphael, Giulio
It was an attack on everything the Academy stood for, including
to the fore, and trace Raphael’s development from ‘primo pensie-
Italy. He lost his mother, Magia di Battista Ciarla, at age 8 and
Romano, Caravaggio and Annibale Carracci, and ancient sculp-
its political functions in support of the King. Finally, the Rubenists
ro’ to the final paintings, a survey of the artist’s entire career, his
his father at 11 (1494). At the time, Urbino, in the Marche region
ture. Both artists delegated some of their work but retained full
won when Antoine Watteau’s ‘The Embarkation for Cythera’ was
designs for others, and his studio organization.
of eastern Italy, was a cultural centre that encouraged the Arts.
control.
accepted as his reception piece by the Academy in 1717. This
Raphael’s father, Giovanni Santi (c. 1440/45-1494), was a court
quarrel about ‘disegno’ and ‘colore’ caricatured Raphael’s
Each exhibition in its own way illustrated the master’s complex
painter to the highly cultured Duke of Urbino, Federigo da
The century old debate, still ongoing ‘The quarrel for primacy
‘Sapere Vivere’ and the complexity in design as well in colour
talent. Since a lot of his work, such as fresco cycles and altar-
Montefeltro. Giovanni taught the young Raphael basic painting
of Form or Colour’ gives insight in the way different periods read
of his supernatural grace and affability. His talent transformed
pieces, is unmovable, a trip to Italy imposes itself as a stand-in
techniques and exposed him to the principles of humanistic
Raphael’s art, compared to what seems to be its opposite, Pieter
replication of Antique sculpture in an innovation where everything
for this void. In Rome, the exhibition explored Raphael’s career
philosophy at the Duke of Urbino’s court.
Paul Rubens. Two hundred years after Raphael’s death, he be-
refers to everything. Raphael was design, colour and emotion.
in reverse, from his burial, which impacted everybody in Europe,
200 201