Raphael (April 6, 1483 – April 6, 1520)

The Nymph Galatea

c. 1512

Firstly, apologies for the delayed post. I'm still dealing with the results of the fire, so often enough I don't have any available time in the day. But I will try to post as consistently as possible. 

Now, as for Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, if you're not into the whole brevity thing), I was completely surprised to find, after I had finished writing my first post of this year, headed with a painting of his, that I had never written an article on him. What an oversight! And just now, as I think of setting some examples against Raphael, I realize I haven't written about Michelangelo, who was both an example for and a rival of his. And, frankly, there is little to say of Raphael's art that has not been said and echoed a hundred times. I will try to write a bit, but forgive my repetitiveness. 

Raphael was a very dynamic painter, taking into himself the influences of the art world around him; and, since he travelled often, it made for a wide array of influences. For example, Raphael freely took into his process the technical interpretations of da Vinci, his smokey transitions (sfumato), and of Michelangelo, his dramatic color changes (cangiante). But what made Raphael interesting was not the constant evolution in his style, but the constant stroke of excellency at the heart of his work. And I will venture to write that this excellency came from Raphael's peculiar meticulousness, which, unlike da Vinci's perfectionism, did not cause a loss of soul in the appearance of the subjects (I'm sure many will disagree with that comparison). 

What do you think, readership?

Portrait of Bindo Altoviti

1514

Poetry

1508-1511

St. Catherine of Alexandria

1508

The Coronation of the Virgin

c. 1503

Portrait of Julius II

1511-1512

Philosophy

1508-1511

Are You Still Waiting?

The Fire in the Borgo

1514

To everyone who is still out there and waiting for an update or simply coming to view this site for the first time, hello! 

I had intended to write daily articles when I posted on here last April, but, unfortunately, I soon encountered many unintended obstacles. The foremost, as the picture above hints, was a fire. (I've found that fires are not most terrible in the number of objects they consume, but in the amount of time they consume.) I won't get into the details of it, as I would hate to encumber this blog with a depressing post, but I will discuss a few changes.

One change has been, and I think this is less depressing and more clerical, my financial situation. So, while I'm not dying on the streets, a little extra capital would be nice. That is why I have a new link/image on the right side, furnished by Peter Paul Rubens, which can accept donations into my PayPal account. They are not donations in the tax-deductable sense (I believe they are considered gifts in the US and certain other countries), but I would highly appreciate any amount you would be willing to give, only, of course, if you can truly spare to give. I have also thought about including  one or a couple of advertisements on the site, but I'm not yet sure I'll do so, unless I can make it work well aesthetically.

Ultimately, if you don't care to send any money by PayPal or click on any advertisements, which may never appear anyway, that's perfect for me too, as I'm just glad to be back to sharing art with you. 

Dosso Dossi (c. 1487 – 1542)

                                                                                                                             

Jupiter, Mercury and the Virtue

1515-1518

Hey guys and gals! I'm posting this entry while in transit, so you don't have to go a day without something new. But, I may not be able to post Sunday, so that day's still way up in the air. 

Dossi was a great High Renaissance painter. Though you can't claim he was revolutionary in style or subject, he always was able to convey something emotionally well. And I think in art so much hinges on the ability to somehow imprint your emotions onto the canvas, that success is often solely defined by this quality. Of course I'm not implying that Dossi was stylistically deficient, as his style was quite good, but, rather, that his legacy has lain in an emotional mark on the characters and environments. Or, perhaps, I'm completely wrong. 

Portrait of a Man

Saints John and Bartholomew with Donors

1527

Portrait of a Warrior

1530

The Virgin Appearing to Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist

1520

Bartolomeo Veneto (c. 1480 – 1531)

                                                                                                  

Portrait of a Woman 

Not much is known about Veneto's life other than a few sparse notes. One of the important notes we do know is that he studied under Gentile Bellini, the son of Jacopo Bellini (though how much of his style he adopted is questionable). Nonetheless, the artistic community is intensely interested in his portraits, which have a soft symbolism that has translated well through the years. I especially love his Portrait of a Woman, which has a very strange, beautiful look to it.   

Portrait of a Man

1525-1530

Woman Playing a Lute

1520

Portrait of a Bearded Gentleman

1508-1510

Portrait of a Gentleman

1512

Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430–1516)

                                                                                          

San Giobbe Altarpiece

c. 1487

Bellini was one of the most talented painters of the High Renaissance, who lived a long, productive life. His paintings are full of expressive faces, gentle symbols and, when applicable, extremely lush environments. And in his life, Bellini was respected enough to have even taught Titian. 

The Drunkenness of Noah

c. 1515

Portrait of Fra Theodoro da Urbino

1515

The Feast of the Gods

1514

Titian (c. 1488 – August 27, 1576)

                                                                              

The Penitent Magdalene

1565

Tiziano Vecellio has had an enormous impact on painters since his introduction into the art world. There are many technical reasons why he's had such an impact: he was born in the right time, his style underwent dynamic changes, he worked with varied themes and environments, and, by the grace of a long life (the exact length of which is a big debate in academia), he produced a great number of paintings. But there is something much more to Titian, and that, I think, is the mesmerizing amount of emotion he poured into his paintings. I can stare at his works endlessly.

Bacchus and Ariadne

1522-1523

Pope Paul III

1548 

Danae

1500

Self-Portrait

c. 1562

Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519)

                                                                              

Leda and the Swan (copy)

1510-1515 

It's Leonardo da Vinci; is there anything more that needs to be said? Of all artists, most deservedly or not, he is best known. Even on the lips of someone devoid of any tangible understanding of art, da Vinci can slip out, just as Einstein can out of the lips of someone completely ignorant of science. And there certainly is a strong emotional greatness in his art.

Interestingly, one of da Vinci's most famous paintings, Leda and the Swan, is actually preserved as a replica made by Cesare da Sesto. What happened to the original? As many great artifacts of our long-lived civilizations, it was lost, only recovered in the semblance of a copy; and for many grand works, we don't even have the much.

St. Jerome

1480 - 1482

Head of a Man Shouting

1504-1505

The Battle of Anghiari

1503-1505