September 24 – November 26 2024
This course will explore an artist who is still seen as the epitome of the ideals that aligned themselves with the term Renaissance. We will chart the rise of Raphael beginning before his birth with the work of his father Giovanni Santi to the introduction of Raphael into the Santi studio. We will discuss his early works and influence looking at contemporaries such as Perugino and the part they may have played in those formative years. Raphael’s obsession with drawing and the integral part it played in his invention, design and printed works will also be explored but the tumultuous period of the Renaissance and Raphael’s part cannot be told without refence to Michelangelo and Leonardo and the competition that ensued between these great Renaissance masters. We will look at the triumph of the Vatican frescoes, the patronage of the popes, the acrimonious battle between Raphael and Michelangelo, Raphael’s final years and the legacy of his life and works.