Raphael Paintings
1483 - 1520 Painters,Sculptor, Architect, Poet, Italy, Renaissance
Pope Leo X with Cardinals Giulio de' Medici and Luigi de' Rossi, 1518-1519
Oil on wood, 60.63 x 46.85 inches [154 x 119 cm]
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence Portraits
Popular with the popes of the period, Raphael decorated the papal apartments of Julius II, continued to do so under Leo X and, following Bramante, served as architect of St. Peter's. Raphael is credited with revolutionizing portrait painting because of the style he used in the portrait of Julius II. Raphael also designed the "cartoons" that are on the tapestries of the Sistine Chapel. A tour of the Vatican Museums should include the Raphael Rooms where you can see some of the artist's works (though Raphael died suddenly on Good Friday, 1520, before all the work was completed and much of it was finished by his students). In his painting The School of Athens, Raphael reflected the classical influence upon Renaissance art, but he also paid tribute to the men who inspired him by using the faces of da Vinci, Bramante and Michelangelo as philosophers participating in the debate between Plato and Aristotle.
