Raphael's Career: The Quintessential Renaissance Artist

Introduction: Raphael and the Renaissance

Raphael is one of the most renowned artists in modern human history—so famous that, like a small number of artists, he is known by only one name. His full name is Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino. His precise birthdate is contested, but it is generally agreed that he was born sometime in the spring of 1483, as the fifteenth century and the Renaissance era were drawing to a close. His life did not span four decades, yet his body of work persists around the world nearly five centuries later. Like other Renaissance artists and professionals of the period, Raphael had proficiency in several disciplines; he is primarily known as a painter and architect. His life encompassed the final stage of the Renaissance, known as the High Renaissance. He came from an artistically inclined family and suffered the deaths of both parents before he was a teenager. His father, before his death, ensured that Raphael began his training as a painter. The young orphaned boy would grow into one of the most prolific and talented artists of his time—and of history. He gained, cultivated, and exercised his influence during his short lifetime. Art historians classify his career into three stages: Umbrian, Florentine, and Roman. This paper traces the development of Raphael's career and explains the ways in which the label of the quintessential Renaissance artist holds true for him.

Early Life, Family Influence, and Artistic Formation

Raphael's family was deeply artistic. His father was a painter by profession, and Raphael grew from childhood into adulthood surrounded by art and steadily developing his own artistic talents. His development as an artist can be illuminated by the nature versus nurture framework: it was in Raphael's nature to be artistic, possessing artistic abilities and inclinations as part of his inheritance, while the environment and culture that nurtured him equally shaped his development and perspective as a Renaissance artist.

His father, Giovanni Santi, was a court painter to Duke Federigo da Montefeltro and gave his son his first painting lessons. When Raphael was a teenager, he was sent to apprentice under Pietro Perugino, the leading painter of the Umbrian school. Raphael became a fully qualified and trained "Master" in 1501. During his Florentine period, he came to be influenced by the works of Leonardo da Vinci, who was thirty years his senior. He was also strongly influenced by Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, which was being painted at the same time. Michelangelo would in fact later accuse Raphael of plagiarism, complaining that "everything he knew about art he got from me" (Visual Arts Cork, 2012).

Though the young Raphael did not spend much time with his parents, their artistic imprint was clearly present. His father chose a master painter well for his son, and Raphael flourished as an apprentice. Because of the time period and location of his birth and upbringing, he had direct opportunity to experience the influence of other masters active in his field. These factors, combined with Raphael's individual character, contributed directly to his achievement as a quintessential Renaissance artist. As one source dedicated to the life and works of Raphael confirms:

"A brilliant self-portrait drawing from his teenage years shows his precocious talent. His father's workshop continued and, probably together with his stepmother, Raphael evidently played a part in managing it from a very early age. In Urbino, he came into contact with the works of Paolo Uccello, previously the court painter (d. 1475), and Luca Signorelli, who until 1498 was based in nearby Città di Castello." (Raphael Sanzio.org, 2012)

His early tutelage by his father helped him develop not only as a painter but also as the leader of a business. Raphael, later in his adult life, would be known for his unusually large and industrious studio, filled with numerous projects and painting assistants. Simply by virtue of his birthplace, he was able to come into contact with, learn from, and even assist in the creative process alongside many local and prolific painters.

Mastery of Perspective and Compositional Technique

As demonstrated in works such as his Florentine Madonna and Child paintings, and certainly in works commissioned in service to the popes, Raphael is a master of color, composition, movement, rhythm, and perspective. It is this combination of elements, among other aspects he mastered, that infuses his works with such power and holds such grip upon the viewer. Within art history, one of the defining characteristics of the Renaissance is the use of perspective, and one of the many reasons Raphael is so revered is his masterful understanding and application of it.

"The Renaissance use of perspective reached its apogee at around 1500, as represented by the incandescent work of Raphael. In a career that paralleled that of Masolino, Raphael started his oeuvre painting Madonnas of unequalled grace and composure. Later in his short life (he died at 37), he produced some of the most imposing perspective compositions of the Renaissance, representing a kind of culmination of a century of perspective exploration. Unlike most of his predecessors, Raphael also included examples of the oblique perspective construction, leading one to ask whether he had finally achieved a full synthesis of the technique of linear projection that had become so commonplace… Even beyond the philosophical reach, psychological depth is incorporated into Raphael's painting by the use of portraits of many of his famous contemporaries as the embodiments of the ancient philosophers." (Web Exhibits, 2012)

Just as Raphael's professional career was taking shape, the Renaissance reached its peak. He was born at precisely the right moment to absorb—and then reproduce—all the best and most paradigmatic characteristics of Renaissance art. While still a young man, he proved an exceptional rival to peers who had long been established as professional artists. His mastery is evident in his understanding and manipulation of perspective, combined with a rare talent for form, position, and composition. His skills as an architect and his proficiency in drawing further reinforced his meticulous and graceful use of perspective throughout his paintings, including The School of Athens.