Raphael: The Symbol of Balance and Perfection in Renaissance Art

So, does the name Raphael sound familiar to you, the subject of today? Don’t worry, whether you are interested in art history or not, you have definitely seen him (at least his most famous work). Here it is! Press enter or click to view image in full size

The School of Athens, Raphael (picture taken from wikipedia)

“The School of Athens.” Raphael painted this work upon the request of the pope of the period, in the pope’s library located in the Sistine Chapel. In this work, he depicted the artists of the period as philosophers of ancient Greece, thus building a bridge between Renaissance and ancient Greek culture. The duo positioned in the center of the painting, wearing purple and blue garments, are depicted as Plato and his student Aristotle. While Plato points upward to the world of “ideas,” to the unseen, Aristotle points to the material world. The colors of Plato’s and Aristotle’s clothing were carefully chosen by Raphael. While Plato is dressed in the colors of air and fire, representing the abstract world of ideas he defended, Aristotle is dressed in the colors of water and earth, the foundations of the earthly world. With the painting being divided into two from the center, those remaining on Plato’s side are filled with philosophers and scientists who went down in human history with their ideas on more abstract values; whereas those on Aristotle’s side are ancient Greek philosophers concerned with more material and measurable theories. Plato was depicted by Raphael as his friend Leonardo Da Vinci. Heraclitus, sitting alone in the foreground with a gloomy state of mind, was depicted as the artist Michelangelo, whose personality traits he fully matched. As a common tradition of the period, he also added his own self-portrait to the fresco. Although this work was made by Raphael when he was 26 years old, it is mentioned as one of the most important Renaissance works of today.

Leonardo da Vinci as Platon& Aristotle

Raphael inherited his passion and talent for painting from his father, who was also a painter. Taking his first steps into painting at a young age in his father’s workshop made him an artist who left behind a large number of works despite dying at the age of 37. For Raphael, achieving perfection in painting and reflecting perfect reality became the main goal. This characteristic was clearly reflected in his style in the portraits he drew.

Since being perfect became a goal for Raphael, during his years in Rome, while working for the pope’s library, he could not accept that Michelangelo, who saw himself as a sculptor, was painting the frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and he fought with Michelangelo over these frescoes for a long time. Eventually, Michelangelo amazed everyone with his ceiling, and Raphael had to accept defeat in this matter.

Since this is a blog post, I would also like to touch upon my first encounter with Raphael. When I went to the Prado Museum in Madrid, which is considered one of the largest art museums in Europe, to see a mythological work by Botticelli (who is my favorite Renaissance artist, but that will be the subject of another post), I learned that the museum contained works by important representatives of art such as Raphael, Caravaggio, and Rembrandt. When I excitedly went to the room where Raphael was located, I encountered the work “Portrait of a Cardinal.” I already had a great deal of information about the work thanks to a novel I had previously read — Rafaello Roma’da bir Ressam — in which it was discussed extensively. Of course, when I saw the original painting, I was very impressed and did some research on it. Although there are many interesting facts about the painting, I would like to share a few fun facts within the scope of a blog post.

Portrait of a Cardinal

The painting is a portrait of Cardinal Alidosi, one of the cardinals of the period, painted to be presented as a gift to the pope. The posture of the cardinal in the painting was chosen by taking reference from the posture in Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, who was one of Raphael’s friends. This situation shows us an important sign that even great artists in Renaissance art were influenced by one another.

Raphael is an important artist and architect who left significant marks on Renaissance art and, with his determination and passion for perfection, left behind many masterpieces. He made important investments in the relationship between art, philosophy, science, and architecture, and inspired many students. Today, we watch his works and what he left to the world with admiration and interest, trying to nourish our souls with art.

Thank you for reading my first post. If you want to continue discovering the beauties of art within the world of science, stay tuned. Until we meet in my next post, take care.