The Paper's reporter Gao Dan
Raphael, who has been famous for five hundred years, is regarded as one of the "Three Masters of the Renaissance" and is a model among Western artists.
From July 10th, the special exhibition "Meeting Raphael: From Renaissance to Neoclassicism" was held at the Beijing Guardian Art Center. The exhibition "shows" Raphael's artistic achievements with many reproductions. Among the original works on display are two early 16th-century Raphael's "Child with a Floral Ornament" and "St. Luke's Painting of the Virgin and Child in Front of Raphael", as well as works by Raphael's teacher Perugino and Raphael's followers.
The surging news saw at the scene, in the name of "meeting Raphael", the audience will "meet" Raphael in different forms: as the core and most shining star in the Renaissance genealogy, Raphael's light also reflects the painters and later successors of the same period, and in the works of these raphael's proud protégés, we can see how they learn from Raphael's harmonious and beautiful artistic style; Raphael, who is well known as a painter, is also a "slash youth", who has designed palaces and villas as an architect. He is even a master of stage sets; of course, there are also raphael's frescoes and oil on canvas, and many reproductions of this exhibition "show" Raphael's artistic achievements. The exhibition displays a total of 69 exhibits, including two authentic works created by Raphael himself, as well as 39 authentic works by Raphael's teacher Perugino and Raphael's followers.
Exhibition site
The exhibition "Meet Raphael" is divided into nine units. The exhibition will be arranged in line with Raphael's artistic achievements, including the early apprenticeship period, style formation, artistic peaks and architectural achievements, interspersed with artists who follow Raphael's principles as classics, showing how they integrated Raphael's laws into their own creative styles and created new schools of art.
Two of Raphael's originals were shown at the end of the exhibition as the finale of the exhibition, one of which, "The Child with the Floral Ornament", was officially certified as a Raphael's original in Italy at the end of March 2021 after years of research.
The Child with the Ornament is very similar to the two children in Raphael's Prophet Isaiah, written by St. Augustine. The famous writer Giorgio Vasari mentioned in the "Celebrity Biography of the Art Garden" that Raphael had created two versions of this theme, because Raphael, after viewing Michelangelo's work, decided to destroy the first version and redraw it. The mutilated frescoes are likely to belong to raphael's first version. A recent re-study of chemical studies conducted in 1962 proved that the pigments used in this fresco were highly compatible with those of st. Augustine's fresco. Raphael is famous for his Virgins and Children series, and his children are always inclined to the playful and cute genre. Although the original content of this work is unknown, the boy's smooth form and slightly confused natural expression reflect Raphael's sensitive capture of the inner world of the characters.
Raphael,"The Child with the Flower Ornament"
Raphael's "The Child with the Flower Ornament" (partial)
Another work identified as Raphael's original painting of the Virgin and Child in front of Raphael.
Raphael, "St. Luke Painting the Virgin and Child before Raphael"
Raphael, "St. Luke's Painting of the Virgin and Child before Raphael" (partial)
It is understood that in 2020, in order to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of this Renaissance master, a number of Western countries led by his native Italy held various exhibitions and activities, most of which were under the framework of the national committee specially established by the Italian Ministry of Culture. Claudio Strinati, curator of the exhibition, said in a video message: "Through this exhibition, we want to express a new concept between civilization, city, citizen and country, the relationship between the individual and art, art and beauty. Our exhibition includes works by Raphael and many artists, and the exhibition also visually recreates one of Raphael's famous works, the Academy of Athens. ”
Raphael's classic fresco "The Academy of Athens" is presented in the fourth unit of the exhibition. The vatican palace's ancient signature hall was projected by technology down in front of Chinese audiences.
At the exhibition hall site, raphael fresco "Academy of Athens" presented in the form of projection
"Slash Youth" Raphael
Raphael tried to establish an ideal of beauty in painting, which remained unchanged for hundreds of years. These include the unity of painting and architecture; the importance of sketch manuscripts in the conception and creation of works of art; and the enduring relationship between the beauty of the art of figurines, the seriousness and credibility of information in works of art, and the effective management mechanisms of the functioning of secular society as a whole and achieve a harmonious balance, established since the ancient Roman Empire.
Raphael's ability to express human emotions such as love, friendship, respect, appreciation, empathy, mutual understanding, etc. in simple and profound ways. This ability of his shines in his sketches. He drew a large number of sketches during his lifetime. Raphael is the artist who is closest to people's inner feelings. His excellent portraits, wonderful drawings, and prints printed later in his life confirm this.
Of particular importance are Raphael's sketches for The Lower Cross. This wood-panel tempera oil painting, dated 1507, is now in the Borghese Gallery in Rome. Later, Raphael had the idea of using the technique of intaglio, and he did not sculpt it himself, but gave the sketches to his apprentice Macantoño Raimondi, who printed several of Raphael's masterpieces. These include The Martyrdom of all The Holy Babies and The Judgment of Paris.
Apprentice Macantonio Raimondi Knife engraving "Portrait of Raphael in the Studio"
Combination of Raphael's sketches (reproductions)
It is recognized that Raphael San Zio or Luca Penni's prints Raphael's Dream are also known as The Meaning of Life. The theme of the work is: a philosopher leaning on a rock and watching, a lady approaching from the right, and between them there is an empty boat floating above the waves. The image is interpreted as "the dangerous path before the wise seek wisdom," but its full symbolism remains a mystery. The inscription at the bottom left of the picture reads "Raphael of Urbino." Commissioned by Filippo Dati to create with gratitude". The inscription states that Raphael was the original author of the work, but Raphael died nearly 40 years before the prints were created, so this has been highly questioned for many years. Perhaps, the inscription refers to some of the images in the paintings conceived by Raphael – although this has not yet been determined, and research is still ongoing.
Printmaking "Raphael's Dream"
The original author is credited with Raphael San Zio's print The Witch's March, which depicts a chariot carrying a witch driving through a dark and sinister world. The whole of the chariot is made of terrifying animal carcass skeletons, "matching" a variety of people and animals. Engraving of the prints began with Macantonio Remondi and completed by Agostino de Mousi. Its prototype is a work that is recognized as belonging to Raphael. However, the study of this work has caused a high degree of controversy, and some experts believe that the original author of this work may also be Michelangelo Bonarotti. Therefore, the meaning and role of this mysterious work of art is still unknown to this day.
Printmaking "The Witch's March" (partial)
The second section of the exhibition features "Raphael"-style" female paintings, such as The Girl in the Scarf and The Virgin in the Chair. The female figure has an important place in Raphael's work. Whether it is a virgin or an aristocratic woman, Raphael can peek into the inner emotions of the characters through the image itself. The gentle, elegant and dignified beauty conveyed by these female figures is the artist's vision of a beautiful humanity. At the same time, Raphael is constantly exploring new forms of creation to perfectly express the inner feelings of the characters. In the 15th century, at the height of the Renaissance, Raphael, standing on the cusp of humanism, keenly felt the relationship between modern art and the classical norms of ancient Rome that the artist was dealing with. For Raphael, the nature of the ancient Roman period is not a simple reproduction, but represents a vision and ability to reshape "beauty" on the classical norms. Unfortunately, the works in the exhibition hall are reproductions and have a poor texture.
A replica of "The Girl in the Scarf", the texture is poor
In this sense, The Lower Cross is an outstanding example of this. From the sketches preserved in the Uffizi Gallery and the final composition, Raphael added a figure who did not belong to the religious category. Some scholars believe that it is Grifoneto, the eldest son of the Baiveni family who died in the Perugia riots, and this painting was customized by his family in his honor. The muscular lines of this figure show the style of ancient Roman sculpture, but his facial expressions are more realistic and delicate. Raphael gives his characters a surging soul tension.
The Lower Cross (reproduction), Raphael San Zio
Raphael designed the now-defunct Blanconio Palace as an architect and began to build his own residence according to the classical style, but the work was never completed. Finally, Raphael designed Giulio de' Medici's Villa Madama in Rome, with a central building of semicircle and square circles, surrounded by gardens and fountains, similar to the design of the ancient Roman period.
Raphael also designed the stage set, in which the appearance of the ancient Roman city was built. Two centuries later in the 18th century, the painter Giovanni Paolo Panini painted a number of landscapes with the theme of the city of Rome, partly ancient and partly modern, reminiscent of Raphael's stage background.
For centuries, the depiction of architecture in Raphael's work has been an iconic work of the vision of antiquity for all European painters who grew up under the influence of Roman mythology and classicism. Raphael's unique approach to constructing scenes and laying out figures in his paintings formed an extremely solid paradigm, especially in the 18th century, which was further developed with the birth of modern archaeology and the excavation of ancient Roman artifacts. The birth of perspective landscape painting, which simultaneously shows the beauty of archaeology and nature, allowing emotions and memories to blend continuously. Giovanni Paolo Panini was an outstanding representative of this school of painting, creating a way of examining antiquity that culturally formed a community of painters, poets, literati and architects committed to the "Grand Tour".
Giovanni Paul Panini, The Archaeologist (Partial)
Giovanni Paul Panini's Sermons of the Apostles (Partial)
Raphael's remains
Raphael's circle of friends
In the exhibition, "Raphael's Circle of Friends" is more noteworthy of the five authentic works of Perugino presented in the first unit. Raphael was born in Urbino, an important cultural and artistic center in Italy, in 1483. His father, Giovanni Santi, was a well-known local painter who owned his own studio. Santi was a forward-looking artist who admired humanism and studied perspective painting. Raphael, who was nurtured by his father, showed an unparalleled talent for painting from an early age and assisted his father in his work in the studio. When Raphael was 11 years old, Santi died. The young genius painter came to Perugia, followed his father's advice, followed Perugino, considered one of the greatest painters of the time, and learned his artistic style of quiet meditation.
The five original works of Perugino on display are all altar decoration screens, located in the lower part of the altar and at the top of the decorative screens: St. Lucia and St. Paul the Hermit are located on the side of the nave and on the side of the steps of the choir, respectively; the circular works of the prophet David and Danier were originally placed on the magnificent vault decoration, which are two sides of the same wooden board - "Daniel" faces the crowd, while "David" faces the monks.
As one of the last great works of his creative maturity, St. Augustine's decorative screens occupied a central place in Perugino's career and also concentrated on his most admired stylistic features. The ultimate harmony of the composition and the soft calmness of the sacred figures are all in the later stages of this artistic career, combining bold techniques with surprisingly modern color sensitivities.
The scene of the exhibition hall, Perugino works
In the exhibition hall, Perugino's work "Saint Lucia"
Other sections in the exhibition, as supplements to Raphael's classical principles, explain how other raphael-later artists embraced Raphaelite principles as their beliefs and thus pioneered new schools of painting, such as Baroque and Neoclassicism. Among them, artists such as Pietro da Cortona, Federico Zukari and Carlo Marata are used as independent units, detailing how Raphael's perfectionism was transformed into new forms and made outstanding contributions to the enduring "Raphael myth". Take Pietro da Cortona, who throughout his life followed Raphael's example and painted frescoes on the vaults of the Hall of Honor for Pope Urbano VIII, based on references to Raphael's works.
Other authentic works in the exhibition (partial)
It is reported that the exhibition was officially opened to the public on July 10 and will last until October 14.
The exhibition will also open the curtain on the summer art exhibition of Beijing Zhongchuang Cultural Tourism Group. Since then, a series of exhibitions under the brand of "Meet the Museum" of the group have been launched, such as the "Meet Dunhuang - Dunhuang Light and Shadow Art Exhibition" that follows, and the "Meet Ancient Egypt - Golden Mummy Exhibition" launched in August will bring 107 ancient Egyptian treasures, allowing the public to understand the multiculturalism of ancient Egypt in an all-round way.
Editor-in-Charge: Lu Linhan
Proofreader: Zhang Liangliang