RAPHAEL: Painting Females With Passionate Perspective

Themes: Renaissance Painters. Religious Art.

It was night of cold December, probably, and the year was 1508 for sure. The people of Vatican were under the siege of severe cold and there entered a horse carrying a man with bright eyes and long hair. He had fire of artistic passion in his heart and in his pocket the man had invitation from Pope Julius II for painting fresco on the walls Sistine Chapel. The man was riding on the horse was Raphael who was to embed his name in the hearts of art lovers for next 500 years.

St Catherine of Alexandria

If we want to see the artworks with hallmark of a painter’s genius, the paintings by Raphael would be one of the best examples.

The Life: Raphael was an Italian painter and architect. Description of Renaissance period of would be incomplete without putting his name in centre. He was third angle of the great artistic triangle made of three great renaissance artists along with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. He kept his own style of painting in tact while taking some beautiful factors of contemporary Florentine Art. Raphael Depicted Feminine Aspects with profoundly artistic prowess. He would depict his passion for the art and his attachment with subjects, especially women.

The Art: The above painting of St Catherine was painted in his early stay in Florence, in the year 1507. Raphael was still passing in his years of getting education that he gained from the experience and seeing the works of the other great Italian artists. In this painting he had skilfully painted the figure standing with most of its weight on one foot. The twist of shoulders, the arms, legs and even hips give very dynamic and relaxed appearance of the lady. The upward gaze of woman and her leaning on a wheel helps creating an effect how she felt ecstasy while standing in this pose.

The Style: Many painters have chosen portraying St Catherine, as she is considered as representative of feminine behaviour. As a religious icon she and a huge follow up among women devotees. She had remained in the hearts of her devotees due to the importance of the virgin martyrs. Raphael's above painting is one of the most famous of the paintings depicting the feminine aspects, for which he was so famous.

Legacy of Raphael’s painting is invaluable in artistic qualities and huge in number of the paintings, too. He was much productive and had established a very large place for painting. Though he died very young age of 37, his studio had generated a cult in the art of painting.

Madonna Cowper

His work is so ‘influencing’ for the other artists that his name divided the history of art in two segments: one Prep-Raphaelite and another Post-Raphaelite. Look at the painting of Madonna given here. We can see the grace of the woman in the tilt of her head and the beauty of her neck. Her carrying the child adds to the motherly passion of a woman. Raphael was known for his injection of such sensuality and passion in paintings.It is believed that the Mother was Virgin and the Virgin feels no age. She remains always pious and always young. Raphael had tried to depict this aspect in this painting, too.

Raphael had come from a small town. He was not well aware of the city of Florence. But it took no time for him to become the darling of the church and the others. He had painted several versions of Madonna and child. His painting Pieta is very much famous for its clear depiction of the grief and the passionate atmosphere Raphael had infused in it.

Pieta

In this painting Pieta, Mother Marry is holding body of Jesus after Crucification. The face of Mother Marry is shown as young.

Geometric Perfection in Raphael's Paintings

Raphael was the artists who never missed the geomagnetic proportions to infuse in his paintings. The painting "Descent from the Cross" (given below) he wonderfully maintained to put all the main figures in defined triangle spaces

In the above painting, we can see the emphasized geometric construction dividing the whole scene in two different triangular shapes. The well-know mythological concept of resurrection of Christ is depicted here in near realistic manner. Look at the curved body of Jesus and the nearly unconscious Virgin Mary. This position of the main figures help viewers to understand the scene easily. the triangular construction and the curves, in the body of Christs and two carriers, give a dynamic look to the whole painting.

After mastering the art of such geometric construction, Raphael had used it in many other master pieces like School of Athens and Liberation of St. Peter. In these paintings and many other done by him, the the triangular construction had become a fundamental element in his paintings. [Images courtesy By Raffaello Sanzio (1483–1520) Alternative names Raffaello Santi, Raffaello de Urbino, Rafael Sanzio de Urbino, Raffael Description Italian painter and architect Date of birth/death 6 April 1483(1483-04-06) 6 April 1520(1520-04-06) Location of birth/death Urbino Rome Work location Florence, Rome, Perugia[see page for license], from Wikimedia Commons , Madonna Cowper By Raffaello (http://pintura.aut.org/)[see page for license], from Wikimedia Commons , Pieta By Raffaello Sanzio (1483–1520) Alternative names Raffaello Santi, Raffaello de Urbino, Rafael Sanzio de Urbino, Raffael Description Italian painter and architect Date of birth/death 6 April 1483(1483-04-06) 6 April 1520(1520-04-06) Location of birth/death Urbino Rome Work location Florence, Rome, Perugia (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, EUA)[see page for license], from Wikimedia Commons Raffaello Sanzio [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons]