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Raphael was an Italian master painter of the High Renaissance. He was born April 6, 1483 in Urbino, Italy. He died on April 6, 1520. His cause of death is a toss up between two theories. One is that he died from a misdiagnosis of a fever. The other is that he died from a rigorous night of promiscuous sex. Raphael's father, Giovanni Stanti, was an unknown painter and Raphael's first teacher,. Giovanni died in 1494 and Raphael continued to teach himself, which he gained the reputation of the greatest artist in Urbino. He was traveled and studied other artists along the way. He absorbed a lot of their style and techniques, but maintained his own unique style. Raphael's paintings were known for their range, variety, grace, strength, and dignity.

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Raphael painted a Self-Portrait of himself between the years 1504 and 1506. The medium used is oil on board. This painting is considered the clearest or most recognizable depiction of Raphael himself.

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His first commissioned piece, which was created for the church of Sant'Agostino in Citta di Castello near Urbino. Unfortunatley n earthquake in 1789 destroyed the altarpiece and only fragments remain. A copy of what the original would have looked like has been created based on sketches that were found.

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Raph moved to Sienna in 1504 where he met his two prime rivals, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. The 3 would become known as the Trio of Great Masters or the holy trinity of masters.

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It is reputed to be the first study the young painter did of the female nude from both the front and the back. Raphael’s youth is manifest in this painting. Though he depicts the anatomy of the three goddesses with care and realism, The Three Graces suffers some crude brush strokes, most noticeable in the comparatively imperfect features of the facial profile of the Grace in the middle, but it isstill is a defining piece of the artist's early work.

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The figures are placed in a semicircle, and their position balances the convex line of the architecture, which has been painted with such a precision that scholars have speculated the existence of a wood model.
All elements are connected to each other by mathematical relations of proportion and placed according to a clear, logical hierarchical order.

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Raphael painted two versions of the St George myth. It depicts a Christian Roman soldier (St. George) who defended the daughter of a king that was a pagan, by stabbing the dragon. This action was said to have converted the pagan king to Christianity.  An earlier, less-accomplished version and later version. Just as Michelangelo was found to have reached the highest peak in the mastery of the human body, Raphael was seen to have accomplished what the older generation had striven so hard to achieve: the perfect harmonious composition of freely moving figures.

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Religious characters were portrayed in a more naturalistic way and in dimensions that were more realistic to the human anatomy. The painting of the Virgin with Christ and St. John the Baptist captures a moment of serenity and content on the Italian countryside.

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Raph was influenced by his rivals, nonetheless. He incorporated Leonardo's experimentation with realism and composition in his Madonnas (the Virgin Mary; Latin for "My Lady").

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The Deposition (AKA the Entombment) was suggestive of the dramatic ideas in Michelangelo’s Battle of Cascina of 1504.

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Raphael started work on redecorating Pope Julius II's apartments at the Vatican in 1508 and continued for 5 years. This was his most important commission to date and established him as the pre-eminent painter in the Court of the Medici.

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Virtual Tour of "Raphaels Rooms" in the Vatican

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Virtual Tour of "Raphaels Rooms" in the Vatican

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http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/stanze-di-raffaello/tour-virtuale.html

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It is not until the Schools of Athens, that Raphael reaches complete, independent artistic maturity. The disposition of each figure in this great fresco is precisely calculated, quite paradoxically, as to achieve the impression of absolute freedom. Raphael was influenced by Leonardo. As with Leonardo’s Last Supper, all the architectural lines lead back towards a vanishing point right behind the main subject of the composition, and the distant arch focuses attention on the two central figures, which sets the tone of the painting in their expressive contrast

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In the center of the painting are two famous philosophers, Aristotle and Plato.  Having these two philosophers in the center of the painting is highlighting the importance of education that humanists valued.  It is as if these two philosophers have gathered everyone together to learn. Plato (on the left) is pointing up because his philosophical belief is that the changing world around us is just a shadow of a higher, truer reality. Aristotle is doing the opposite and holding his hand down.  Aristotle’s philosophy is that the only reality is the one we experience through our senses, by sight and touch.

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Several philosophers are a part of this famous painting.  This painting brings all these highly intelligent people into one setting and shows how others are interested in their teachings.  Humanists believed in order to do noble deeds, they needed a good, well-rounded education.

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The Disputation of the Holy Sacrament 1510 

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The Disputation of the Holy Sacrament 1510 

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The theme of the Stanza della Segnatura (the library of Pope Julius II's apartment he commissioned Raph to paint), eminently suited to Raph's thoughtful humanism, is divinely inspired human intellect in four spheres: theology, poetry, philosophy, and law. The earliest of the principal scenes to be painted‧ (representing Theology), it shows Raphl still developing from his Florentine style in the light of the enormous challenge of the stanza: never before had he undertaken a decorative scheme on this scale.

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This was the last of Raph’s Madonnas and one of the last pictures he completed himself. The layout of the figures is exceptionally balanced. Unified by gestures and poses, the trio enjoy a completely harmonious pictorial relationship, while happily occupying their own individual space. the facial proportions are calculated to produce aesthetic looks. The angels at the bottom can be found all over in today's Catholic society.

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Raph met Agostino Chigi, who became one his most important patrons outside the church. The most famous commission he received from Chigi was for the fresco of Galatea in his Villa Farnesina in Rome. Many thought Galatea resembled Chigi's lover, but Raph did not mean for Galatea to resemble any one human person, but to represent ideal beauty.

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The portrait depicts Raph’s friend, the diplomat and humanist Baldassare Castiglione, whose rapid ascent into courtly circles paralleled that of Raphael himself. It may be regarded as a discreet act of homage to Leonardo's Mona Lisa. Baldassare himself was struck both by the uncanny realism and naturalism of Raphael's painting and the human presence it transmitted. The composition is deliberately cut off at the hands, which focuses attention on the face and the intense gaze.

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Raph sought to combine Greek and Roman traditions with those of the Bible. His understanding of Yahweh was therefore influenced by the representation of the Roman god Jupiter. This highlights the problem any artist has in trying to portray God - every attempt is bound to be biased and partial, reflecting the conventions and assumptions of a particular time and place. The vision of God is emphasized and magnified so much, that the faces in the sky and the prophet standing at the lower left part of the painting are almost unnoticed. God is accompanied by cherubims, and symbols of the evangelists such as the ox, lion, eagle and angel dominating the whole painting. The intricate illustration of the clouds and sharp detail of the rays are also impressive, making the painting truly a masterpiece.

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Raph was engaged to the Cardinals niece, Maria Bibbiena, but was secretly already in love with another women, Margarita Luti which is depicted in this painting. Raph has hidden clues to his love in this painting; the wedding ring, the pearl brioche, and his name on the armband. The theory is that Raph and Margarita were already married and that is why he kept putting his marriage to Maria on hold.

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Raph’s work of art, Transfiguration, was created beginning in 1516, and was thought to be finished by his student of art, Giulio Romano in 1520, after Raphael’s premature death. It can be interpreted as the split between the flaws of men, depicted in the lower half, and the redemptive power of Christ, in the upper half of the painting.