Rafael Sanzio de Urbino was born on 6 April 1483 at three o`clock in the morning. His parents were Giovanne di Sante di Piero (a painter who never achieved any fame and died when Rafael was only 11 years old) and Magia di Gattista di Nicola Ciarla. His stay first at Perusa and then in Florence greatly influenced his artistic formation, while his Roman period strengthened him in the creation of his cultural contacts, something which had been already imagined before his artistic inclinations. In all his works of art there is no sign whatsoever of torment, due either to spiritual crisis or mortal enemies. On the contrary, what is most noticeable is the peace of soul and joy in daily events that are reflected in his paintings, which sometimes transport us to races and parties, a world in which his contemporaries declared him a gentleman.
His first teacher was no doubt his father. But he also guided young Rafael more in other aspects such as in the appreciation of the grandeur of the contribution of the renaissance in the city. He showed Rafael the harmonious architectural contributions of Luciano Laurena and stimulated him to admire all that had been imagined by Bramante of Urbino (which was never completed and remained a part of his dreams). On his death, his father entrusted him to Evangelista di Pian de Meleto as an apprentice. He worked with this modest painter in Urbino but within a short time, there was nothing more that he could be taught. Rafael was at this time, on the heels of Bramante. He was overcome with his encounter to Piero Vannucci, “Il Perugino”, which was to be a most important and decisive event in his life (and also in the life of Vannucci). In this first stage of his career, Rafael took the initial steps towards the renaissance. His most important work at this time was “The Betrothal of the Virgin” ( 1504 – Brera – Milan pinacotheca ). The influence of Bramante can be clearly seen in this painting, above all in the dome which is represented in it. While in Siena he painted “The Three Graces” ( Conde Chantilli Museum ) and “The dream of the Knight” (National Gallery), among others. He lived a life of intense activity, yet his spirit seemed to hear the calling of Tuscany and the need to open his own path within Florentine art, which suggests that he was in Florence even before 1505. This would have been feasible as “Il Perugino” had a workshop, pupils and clients there and would not have gone against his pupil`s wishes. This year marks the start of the second stage of Rafael`s life, as he decided to definitely live in Florence and had a letter of recommendation from Duke Urbino Gonzalo Pier Soderino. It is from then that the strong influence of both Leonardo and Fray Bartolomeo can be attached to his paintings.
From the former he learned the technique of chiaroscuro and the deep knowledge of what painting really implies, while from the latter, who was also his great friend, he learned composition and the warmth of colour that may be derived from the palette.
This is evident in a series of portraits from this period, “La Donna Gravida” and “Angel and Madonna Doni” (Pitti Gallery).
Also from this period are “The Coronation of the Virgin” (Vatican), “The Burial of Christ” (Rome) and the “Madonna del Pesce” ( Prado Museum ). His anxiety to see and to learn pushed him to Rome where he was attracted by the Pontifical Court, the classical antiquity and the presence of artists and men of literature. But his great opportunity arose when he was called by Julius II, in 1508, on the recommendation of Bramante and this also marks the start of the third stage of his life as Florence had already emptied him of all his spirit. He therefore enthusiastically accepted the invitation of the Pope and found himself surrounded by personalities such as Michelangelo (the Pope`s private painter) and Bramante ( the Pope`s private architect ) and thus started his “Roma Quinientista”. The glory of Rafael, over jealousy and opposition, was to leave a profound mark in this period. He made the portrait of Julius II, who entrusted him to make the frescoes of the Stanza della Segnatura. The first work that he painted was “Disputa” or “The dispute of the most holy Sacrament”, which deeply impressed the Pope to such an extent that he had all the other paintings washed out so that Rafael could paint over them. Here he depicted his “The Academy at Athens”, “Parnassus” and “Justice” (finished in 1511). Meanwhile Julius II had died and Leon X succeeded him and also protected Rafael (who painted his portrait – Pitti Gallery). In 1513 when he was 30 years old, together with Michelangelo, he was considered the “Painter of the Pope” and the “Painter of Rome”. He received so many requests to paint that he had to ask his pupils to help him, yet at that time he made some magnificent paintings in Rome, including the great “The Sistine Virgin”, as well as some incredible portraits, “La Velata” (Pitti Gallery-Florence), “Maddalena Fozzi” (who was painted as a young man with a unicorn – Borghese Gallery – Rome), the ” Portrait of Castiglione ” (Louvre), and according to Matisse, one of the best paintings ever made (an appreciation which we also share), and “The Transfiguration” (Vatican). From 1516, he directed the excavations that were being carried out in Rome, and over the following three years he painted some of his most unforgettable masterpieces, among them the cases for the tapestries of the Vatican on the “Acts of the Apostles”. He was a painter and an architect and quite different in character from the tormented Michelangelo, to whom he tried to become close. Rafael appears to have been like a gift from nature. His life was short but he always seemed to be full of joy and was easily understood by his contemporaries so that his works made him rich and famous – a fact that did not make him suffer the economic and spiritual hardships that embittered so many other talented artists. He was an incredible drawer and synthesized a special type of beauty as with the variety of his young models and the paintings on boards, he achieved a diaphanous transparency and use of colour. Two of his self-portraits should be mentioned: one is in the Uffizi in Florence and the other, where he depicted himself as much older, is at the Oxford Museum.
Rafael died when he was only 37 years old, almost certainly as a consequence of a respiratory complication brought about by a cold which he contracted on one of his periodic visits to the excavations of the Roman ruins.
