Raphael

 (1483-1520)

Raphael (1483-1520) The youngest of the three great creators of high
Renaissance (including Leonardo and Michelangelo) and the most eclectic of
great artists. In 1500 he was 17, Leonardo was 48, and Michelangelo 25 -- and
yet in less than 10 years this provincial youth, who had not had their
advantage in being born and brought up in Florence, was generally admitted to
be their equal. In 1508 Raphael went to Rome, where he rapidly became the
principal master employed in the Vatican, with the sole exception of
Michelangelo, who was then painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. At 26
Raphael was in the front rank, and there he remained for the rest of his short
life.His style eventually became larger and simpler and showed how the conception of the Madonna had
changed from the simple Naturalism of the 15th century to the superhuman being,
which in the 16th century was thought more appropriate to the Mother of God --
hence the figure floating in the clouds. Raphael was known for delicate
treatment in the portrayal of his subject matter and also for the
personification of his calm, serene mind. When he died at the age of 37, he
occupied a unique social position, in terms of friendship with cardinals and
princes, a position never before attained by an artist. The false rumor current
at his death that the Pope had intended to make him a cardinal is the most
eloquent proof of the change that had come over the status of the artist, a
change wrought principally by Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael.

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