Although he lived a short life, Raphael was considered one of the most important figures during the Renaissance period, alongside Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. At a young age, Raphael was already exposed to art through his father, as he was the painter for the court of Urbino. Later on in his childhood, he attended the great master’s, Perugino, workshop. It was clear Raphael’s earlier works certainly were influenced by Perugino, including his distinctive style of incorporating both portraiture and landscape work into his paintings. Interestingly enough, there was believed to be a period in which many could not differentiate between Perugino and Raphael’s style, but some would argue Raphael’s way of handling a balanced composition was a technique Perugino could never quite master as well.
When he moved to Florence in 1504, Raphael highly admired and valued Leonardo da Vinci’s works, which encouraged him to incorporate movement into Raphael’s paintings. Something unique about Raphael’s style during the Renaissance was his ability to incorporate balance and harmony into his paintings, while still giving movement and life to the figures. This is greatly exemplified through Raphael’s The nymph Galatea. I find it more intriguing how the other great master, Michelangelo, was highly jealous of Raphael, to the point where he accused Raphael of directly copying Michelangelo’s sculpture-like style. Although I can see his influence on Raphael, I think Raphael’s style focuses more on a classical, naturalistic and softer style.
Sources
https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1818.html#biography
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0J61GFoOSs&ab_channel=Perspective
Angelica,
Nice work on Raphael! You have sound information through your research and some personal thoughts about the work. I did not know that Michelangelo was jealous of him which is quite an interesting thought as their work was so unlike each other. I guess M was pretty well jealous of everyone. Good first post out of the gate.
Jeff
Writing comment from Patrick
Very nice piece, well written. I suggest reading aloud and you can hear where commas are not needed, sentence feel too long, and there is repetition. Look at the number of Raphaels in the second paragraph. Overall, excellent storytelling.