As an extremely talented painter, Raphael created a large number of paintings during his short life. This is not only related to his diligence, but also to his method of artistic creation. He is a person who is very good at learning from the strengths of others and at the same time constantly improving and innovating on the basis of his own creations. The shape of the beautiful fairy Galatea in "The Triumph of Galatea" can be said to be based on this creative method synthesis and model. Raphael died on April 6, 1520. He only lived 37 years old, which can be described as a great loss to Renaissance art. What passed with Raphael was the unique classical elegance of Renaissance paintings at its peak. I would like to write this article to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of the great Raphael. Written by
| Zhang Yi
Original title: "Commemorating the 500th anniversary of Raphael's death: This is how the great painter interprets "The Triumph of Love", but is it really a victory?丨Collecting Truths from the Sea of Art》
Introduction to "The Triumph of Galatea"
Siena banker Agostini Chigi (Agostini Chigi, 1466-1520) was a Pope Julius (Julius II, 1443-1513, also translated as Julius II or Julius II, a figure who made significant contributions to the flourishing cultural and artistic activities of Rome during his reign. The house he built for himself on the outskirts of Rome between 1509 and 1510 is an example of luxury and elegance. In this house he commissioned paintings by Raffaello Santi (1483 - April 6, 1520) and Sebastiano del Piombo ( 1485-1547) and others painted murals with classical mythological themes for this mansion. The mansion built by Ziggy was later sold to the Farnese family and is today known as La Villa Farnesina.
1.1 "The Triumph of Galatea": an immortal myth from ancient Greece and Raphael's new interpretation
The love story of Galatea originates from ancient Greek mythology. In the early days of the Roman Empire in 8 AD, ancient Rome Writer Ovid (Ovid, real name Publius Ovidus Naso (43 BC - 17/18 AD) included it in his famous book "Metamorphoses, Book XIII" Poligia, the great humanist writer in Renaissance Florence Angelo Poliziano (Angelo Poliziano, 1454-1494) rewrote this story into poetry. It depicts how the clumsy Cyclops Polyphemus sang a love song to the beautiful sea nymph Galatea, who drove her shell chariot pulled by two dolphins Speeding over the waves, surrounded by her beautiful companions of sea gods and nymphs, she mercilessly laughed at the vulgar love songs of the Cyclops. Based on these documents, mainly the poems of Policiano, Raphael created the famous fresco "The Triumph of Galatea" (Figure 1) in the loggia of the Chigi Manor. It is worth mentioning that it was this same poem by Policiano that inspired Botticelli to create his famous painting "The Birth of Venus."
Figure 1. Raphael, "The Triumph of Galatea", fresco, completed in 1514, 295 cm high and 225 cm wide, now on display in the Galatea Gallery of the Manor Farnese in Rome | Image source: Wikipedia
" The mural "The Triumph of Galatea" fully demonstrates the balance, harmony and perfection of Raphael's works, which shows the goddess Galatea patrolling the ocean riding a huge conch shell pulled by dolphins through the waves. Surrounded by pairs of mermaids surrounding her in the water and the water in the sea God, and the sky above the goddess is filled with little cupids who draw their bows and shoot arrows of love into the mortal world. In the upper left of the picture, we can see hiding behind the clouds to provide the little cupids with Another little cupid from the Arrow of Love. Against the background of clear blue clouds and the sea and sky painted in colors such as blue, blue, purple, and green, the dark muscles of the male sea gods are in sharp contrast with the pink and jade skin of the female fairies, especially The scarlet cloak that wrapped around Galatea's body and set off her long golden hair was blowing in the wind. The wind corresponds to the yellow gauze of Narcissus blown up by the wind at the bottom left of the painting. It can be said to be bright and dazzling with endless tension. Here, Raphael fully demonstrates the beauty of Galatea and her female partner to the audience (Figure 1a) .
Figure 1a. Raphael, part of "The Triumph of Galatea" | Image source: Wikipedia
The composition of this painting is obviously divided into upper and lower parts. The focus is of course on the lower half, where various characters gather, everyone The objects seem to correspond to other characters, and each action corresponds to a counter-action. These characters not only have different postures and expressions, but are also full of movement, but the entire picture still shows stability and harmony to the viewer; the colors and light and dark contrasts in the painting Achieve full tension effect under various colors. However, the entire picture is still the product of classicist artistic ideals, and its perfection comes from a deliberate and invisible rigor and balance. I have looked at this painting for long periods of time many times, and I have to say that no matter how many times I look at this lovely and cheerful painting, I always find new beauty in its rich and complex composition.
1.2 The image of peerless beauty produced under the influence of Neoplatonism
The Renaissance was an art and cultural revival movement in Italy from the 14th to the 16th century that used ancient Greek-Roman culture and artistic works. It is far more than artistic creation, but on the basis of inheriting, reconstructing and carrying forward the classical academic system and its academic thoughts (including art theory and art philosophy) , using classical works of art and relying on the authentic art forms of the Catholic Church at that time , a cultural and artistic movement that developed a completely new set of works of art, Neoplatonist art theory and even artistic creation methods.
Cicero in his On Creation (On Invention) tells the story of the famous ancient painter Zeuxis (Zeuxis, who lived in the 5th century BC) creating Helen of Troy ht The story of ml1 (some say it is Venus) : In the process of painting, Zeuxis asked the people in Crotone (Crotone) to provide him with many beautiful girls as models because he believed that No matter how beautiful a beauty is, nature itself cannot make all parts of her body grow absolutely perfectly. As a painter, it is impossible for him to find all the elements required to constitute the ultimate beauty from any single beautiful woman. When painters and sculptors create their works, they take the absolutely perfect parts that have been created in nature or previous works, and then create the most beautiful and most suitable parts based on the artist's new imagination and needs. New themed artwork.
Raphael deliberately adopted a similar method when creating Galatea. He wrote to his friend Baldassare Castiglione (Baldassare Castiglione, 1478-1529) 's letter mentioned that he had some idea of beautiful women in his mind. In order to draw the beauty of Galatea, he also had to see many beautiful women in real life, so in the painting Galatea is actually the ideal beauty of the various beautiful parts of multiple beautiful women in reality that are idealized and combined together.
To a certain extent, Raphael, like his teacher Perugino (Perugino) , gave up faithful depictions of nature and instead used idealized images of beautiful women in his imagination. If we look closely at the classical Greek era, we will find that its so-called ideal beauty originated from nature and was slowly formed in artistic practice. But during the Renaissance this process was reversed, as artists sought to modify nature according to the idealized models of beauty they derived from classical statues. This approach is risky to a certain extent, because if the artist deliberately improves nature, his works can easily appear overly modified and lack a human touch. But Raphael's works obviously overcome this difficulty. We can find that his idealized treatment of Galatea's beauty did not lose vitality and human flavor at all.. She completely lives in a world full of love and beauty, which is exactly the classic world in the eyes of the early Renaissance people in Italy in the 16th century.
It should be said that Raphael's "The Triumph of Galatea" is the victory of humanistic thought that emerged in the Renaissance era. It is also the victory of Neoplatonist artistic thought and creative method. It reflects the pervasive atmosphere at the peak of the Renaissance. Optimism in Rome.
Imitating and surpassing the ancients, masters of the same generation and himself: a brief discussion of Raphael's artistic creation methods
Any genius master has his own growth trajectory. If we carefully examine Raphael's "The Triumph of Galatea" In the paintings, we can also see the traces of Raphael learning from the previous masters. Those who are familiar with Renaissance art can easily see that the shape of the little angel in the center of the bottom of the painting clearly comes from the relief work "The Virgin and Child with St. John as a Child" created by Michelangelo around 1505. 》 (The Virgin and Child with the Infant St John, also known as Taddei Tondo) The shape of the Son of Jesus (Figure 1b and Figure 1b-1) . Raphael should have seen this work while he was studying in Florence (1504-1508). This section will briefly discuss Raphael's creative techniques based on his experience studying in Florence and the information related to Galatea's body shape in Figure 1.
Figure 1b. Raphael, the little angel, part of "The Triumph of Galatea"丨Picture source: Wikipedia
Figure 1b-1. Michelangelo, "The Virgin and Child with Saint John the Child", also known as the Tetus Round Sculpture, marble relief, circa 1504-1505, diameter 106.8 cm, depth 7.5 cm to 22 cm, now on display in London, England Royal Academy of Art丨Picture source: Wikipedia
2.1 Talking about his relationship with the Italian aristocratic elite from Raphael’s recommendation letter for studying abroad
Figure 2. Raphael, "Portrait of Giovanna Felicita Feltria della Rovere", oil on canvas, painted in 1507, height 65.2 cm, width 48 cm, now on display at the National Gallery of Marche, Italy丨Image source: Wikipedia
On October 1, 11504, the famous Italian aristocratic woman Giovanna Felicita Feltria della Rovere (Giovanna Felicita Feltria della Rovere, 1463-1513) (Figure 2) For Raphael, he went to Florence to study and paid tribute to Soderini (Piero di Tommaso Soderini, 1451-1522), the supreme administrator of Florence for life. ( See note 1) wrote a warm and typical Italian letter of recommendation. In this letter, she introduced Raphael's artistic talent, and also specifically told the reader: Raphael's deceased father was a court painter in Urbino and had a close relationship with her, and because of this With such a background, Raphael was an elegant and considerate young man. Therefore, whether for family or professional reasons, she recommended Raphael to study art in Florence, and at the same time asked Raphael to bring her own love. (See Note 2)
Note 1: Piero Soderini was elected as the lifelong standard bearer of justice by the Republic of Florence in 1502. Florence's ruling elite hoped that his rule would bring stability to the turbulent Florentine politics since 1494. However, the foreign policy he pursued to be close to France often left Florence isolated and difficult in Italy, which eventually led to Pope Julius II's determination to use Medici power to end it. The government he led was overthrown in 1512, and he himself was exiled. Although the Medici family summoned him to Rome and gave him preferential treatment after being elected pope, they prohibited him from returning to Florence for life. He finally died in 1522 Died in Rome.
Note 2: For details, see: Vincenzo Golzio, Raffaello nei documenti, nelle testimoniaze dei contemporanei and nella letteratura del suo secolo, Vantican City, 1936; rev. ed. Farnborough, 1971, pp. 9-10.
Joanna Felicita Felicita Feltria della Rovere came from the Montefeltro family, an ancient Italian aristocratic family. This family has dominated the family since the 12th century. Many were granted various titles, including dukedom. Her own father was Federico III da Montefeltro (1422-1482, 1422-1482, named Condottieri), one of Italy's greatest mercenary captains. Duke of Urbino), her mother Battista Sforza (Battista Sforza (1446-1472) was a princess from the Sforza Duke family of Milan, a powerful state in northern Italy. Piero della Francesca (1416/17-1492) painted a very famous portrait of the couple (Fig. 2a).Her brother was Guidobaldo da Montefeltro (1472-1508), the Duke of Urbino at the time. She was the former Pope Sixtus IV ( Sixtus IV, 1414 – 1484, commonly known as Francesco della Rovere) nephew is the current Pope Julius II (Pope Julius II, Figure 2b) The widow of Giovanni della Rovere, Duke of Sora, Lord of Senigallia , because her husband was the Duke of Sora during his lifetime and died after his death. Later, she herself became the lord of the Italian city of Sola as the Duchess of Sola, and was also the lord of Senigalia (Signora of Senigallia) , actually led these two independent city-states. She was also the mother of Francesco Maria I della Rovere (1490-1538), the future Duke of Urbino.
Figure 2a. Francesca, "Duke Federico III da Montefeltro and His Wife", painted 1467-1472, oil on wood, 47 cm high and 66 cm wide, now on display in Florence Uffizi Museum | Picture source: Wikipedia
Figure 2b. Raphael, "Pope Julius II", oil on wood, painted in 1511, 108.7 cm high and 81 cm wide, now on display at the National Gallery, London, UK | Image source: Wikipedia
Although Many of the most powerful political and military figures in the Italian Renaissance were ill-fated, but if you carefully look at the history of these families, you will notice that they usually lasted for hundreds of years, from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, and influenced them in many ways. It reflects the history and cultural development of Italy and even Europe. And Raphael is a very lucky artist in some respects . Because his father is a court painter of Urbino who has extensive knowledge of art and is very popular, Raphael grew up in In the court, he developed elegant behavior, which laid a good foundation for him to successfully travel among these nobles and obtain various top projects and sponsorships. The person who handed over the decoration of a series of important halls in Vatican, including the Pope's Signature Hall, to Raphael was Pope Julius II, who came from the Rovere family, that is, Joanna Felicita Feil Brother of Tria della Rovere's deceased husband. Although Raphael fulfilled his mission and created immortal artistic masterpieces for the Vatican and mankind, we have to admit that when Raphael received the project from Pope Julius II, he had nothing already achieved Achievements prove that he is qualified for the job.
2.2 Bringing out the Old and Bringing Out the New: His Experience of Learning from the Masters of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo while studying in Florence
Raphael created a large number of paintings in his short life. This is due to his diligence on the one hand, and on the other hand , also related to his artistic creation method, he is A person who is very good at learning the strengths of others and at the same time constantly improving and innovating on the basis of his own creation., Galatea's style can be said to be the synthesis and model of this creative technique (Figure 3) .
Figure 3. Raphael, Galatea, part of "The Triumph of Galatea"
While Raphael was studying in Florence from 11504 to 1508, it was the time when Florence's artistic creation reached its highest peak. In June 1504, Michelangelo's newly completed David sculpture was placed on the left side of the main entrance of the Palazzo della Sera, the secular government of the Republic. It was not only a symbol of the republican spirit of Florence, but also a symbol of the peak of Renaissance art in Florence; After that, the young Michelangelo and his elder Leonardo da Vinci, who had returned from Milan, began painting large murals in the Palazzo della Presbyterian.These public art activities undoubtedly attract people's attention and naturally excite Raphael. (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Raphael’s sketch of Michelangelo’s David statue, drawn around 1505, 36.9 cm high and 21.9 cm wide; now collected in the British Museum | Image source: Wikipedia
Figure 5. Raphael, "Saint Catherine of Alexandria", painted around 1507, oil on wood panel, 72.2 cm high, 55.7 cm wide; now on display at the National Gallery, London, UK | Image source: Wikipedia
"St. Catherine of Alexandria" shown in Figure 5 is a work completed by Raphael around 1507. This period was the end of Raphael's study in Florence. The painting itself shows that Raphael was in the process of artistic creation. Characteristics of the transition stage in style. On the one hand, we can see the influence of the pious religious sentiments in the works of his teacher Piero Perugino, and on the other hand, we can see that the young Raphael learned from Leonardo da Vinci Influenced by the elegant antipodal style of the heroine in the painting (cont rapposto) The stance and body shape should be derived from the lost sculpture "St. Matthew" by Leda and Michelangelo in Leonardo da Vinci's "Leda and the Swan" (Figure 5a and Figure 5b) . In Raphael's work, the artist did not paint the whole body of St. Catherine, but we can easily judge her whole body posture from her posture in the painting, especially the posture outside the painting: that is, in the painting The heroine should have her left foot forward and supporting her whole body, while her right foot Put your feet on the ground and follow lightly. This is a typical antipodal stance derived from ancient Greek sculptures. It is also the common teacher of Raphael's teacher Perugino and Leonardo da Vinci, and a great sculpture in the early Renaissance. It is the human body posture that Viktor Rocchio has studied most deeply and is best at using.
Figure 5a. Leonardo da Vinci's painting "Leda and the Swan" copied by Iyo Sodom, painted between 1510 and 1515, 112 cm high and 86 cm wide, now on display at the Borghis Art Gallery in Rome, Italy丨Image source: Wikipedia
Figure 5a-1. Raphael, sketch copied from Leonardo da Vinci's painting Leda, 1505-1507, 31 cm high and 192 cm wide, collected by the British royal family and now on display at Windsor Castle | Image source: Wikipedia
meter Michelangelo should have started making the marble statue of Saint Matthew in 1506 (Figure 5b). Although it was not completed in the end, for the viewer, it allows the viewer to see enough of Michelangelo's work on this matter. The modeling concept of a sculpture. The posture of St. Matthew's body was obviously influenced by the ancient sculpture Laocoon which was just unearthed on January 14, 1506 (Figure 5b-1). Michelangelo not only saw Laocoon when it was unearthed And he has done some research on it, so to a certain extent, Raphael indirectly learned and gained nutrition from classical sculpture art through Michelangelo. The author personally believes that although Michelangelo's sculpture is not completed, it has fully displayed the sculptor's creative ideas and artistic language in front of the viewer, although it has omitted quite a few details. From today's perspective, this unfinished sculpture is particularly charming. St. Matthew's body is strongly twisted, his head turns to the right, and the entire body is pushed by a strong internal force, which seems to push the entire figure upward. . The unfinished state makes the figure appear more energetic, and St. Matthew seems to be making great efforts to escape from the chaos, emerging from the chaos in a heroic posture, that is, an irregularly shaped rock. The shape of the entire sculptural figure is designed according to the ancient Greek antithesis law (contrapposto) , but at the same time it is very individual. St. Matthew's left leg is slightly raised and extended to the right, and the right leg is upright as a support for the entire body; the left and right arms are similarly arranged, with the left arm raised and the right arm drooped; the head and shoulders are turned Different angles greatly enhance the dynamics of the sculptured figures.Michelangelo's unfinished statue obviously had a huge influence on Raphael, which can be seen from his sketch (Figure 5b-2) .
Figure 5b. Michelangelo, St. Matthew, marble, made around 1505-1506, height 216 cm, Accademia Museum, Florence | Image source: Wikipedia
Figure 5b-1. Ancient Greek Rhodes sculptor, Laocoon group sculpture, marble, 208 cm high, 163 cm wide, 112 cm thick; now on display in the Vatican Museum | Image source: Wikipedia
Figure 5b-2. Raphael, Sketch of St. Matthew Sculpture by Michelangelo, 1507, height 31.9 cm; width 23 cm; British Museum | Image source: Wikipedia
Before Raphael was about to leave Florence, he created The painting "Christ being taken off the cross" is (Figure 6) . The third figure from the left in the upper part of the painting is St. John. The shape is obviously directly borrowed from Michelangelo's unfinished sculpture of St. Matthew; in the huge painting "School of Athens" that he later painted at the request of Pope Julius II after leaving Florence for the Vatican, we have Once again we see his use of the form of Leonardo da Vinci's Leda and Michelangelo's St. Matthew, this time Raphael transformed it into the image of the ancient Greek philosopher Parmenides ( Figure 7 and Figure 7a) . However, it was Raphael's fresco of Galatea in 1514 that clearly took this figure to its extreme. There is no doubt that by learning from Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo and constantly creating and surpassing herself , Raphael's Galatea has become one of the most beautiful female images in human art creation.
Figure 6. Raphael, "Christ Unfolding from the Cross", oil painting on wood, about 1507, 184 cm high and 176 cm wide, now on display at the Borghis Museum in Rome, Italy | Image source: Wikipedia
Figure 7 . Raphael, "School of Athens", fresco, painted between 1509 and 1511, 500 cm high and 700 cm wide, now on display in the Papal Signature Hall (east wall) in the Vatican in Rome丨Picture source: Wikipedia
Figure 7a . Raphael, "School of Athens" (detail), Parmenides
A brief conclusion
There is no doubt that Raphael's "The Triumph of Galatea" is the crystallization of humanistic thought and Neoplatonist philosophy in Renaissance art creation. It is also a literary and art work. A reflection of the optimism that prevailed in Rome at the height of the Renaissance.. Galatea, who was galloping wildly on the sea, could despise the somewhat unrealistic unrequited love of the Cyclops Polyphemus for her without any scruples, and pursue her human lover. It can be said that this is the victory of love. .
Figure 8. Part of Galatea Gallery in Villa Farnesina | Image source: Wikipedia
However, will love really win? If you stand in the loggia displaying Raphael's painting (Figure 8) and look to the left, you will see "The Cyclops" painted by Venetian painter Sebastiano del Pimbo. Polyphemus" (Figure 8a) , he is sitting alone on the shore, holding a panpipe for playing in his right arm, holding a wooden staff in his left hand, still lying between his legs a dog. If you know a little bit about this ancient myth, you will know that Polyphemus, who was crazy about love, killed Galatea's mortal lover with a huge stone.
Figure 8a. Sebastiano del Pimbo, "Polyphemus the Cyclops", fresco, painted in 1512, 295 cm high and 225 cm wide, now on display in Galati, Villa Farnese, Rome, Italy Ya Gallery | Picture source: Wikipedia
Every time the author comes to this loggia to watch Raphael's "Galatia" "The Triumph", I can't help but see the Cyclops Polyphemus next to me. Although this work can be appreciated from different artistic angles, the author just wants to point out a fact that people usually don't pay much attention to. The Cyclops in this painting was originally nude, but at the beginning of the Reformation, Francesca Ortiaqi, the wife of the banker Ziggy, Ordeaschi) felt that this nude portrait made her feel uncomfortable, so she asked someone to paint him with blue clothes to cover his body. Thinking that people's taste in art changes so quickly, and then looking at the two works together, the author There is often an inexplicable feeling of uneasiness. Perhaps the most beautiful things in the world are always very fragile, including Raphael, who created "The Triumph of Galatea". Both he and his paintings are so elegant and touching, giving people infinite beauty. reverie. But Raphael's life was fragile and short. On April 6, 1520, Raphael died, only living 37 years old. The whole of Rome was in sorrow. It must be said that this was a great loss to Renaissance art. What passed with Raphael was the unique classical elegance found in paintings at the peak of the Renaissance.
However, a greater historical tragedy is about to take place in Rome, and it seems inevitable. To a certain extent, the humanist trend of thought that pursues human dignity and individual liberation is undoubtedly a rebellion against medieval Catholicism. Although during the rise of humanism, it worked hard to reconcile the contradictions between itself and Catholic teachings. This is particularly evident in the creation of Renaissance art. To this day, most people will not deny that many religious works of art created during the Renaissance are still the most precious treasures of church art, and they still have the function of spreading doctrines and attracting believers. Function. However, the development of art and the increase in wealth caused by social progress not only strengthened the power of the church, but also aroused the hope of the popes with humanistic ideas in the mid-to-late 15th century and the early 16th century. They wanted to make Rome the most beautiful place in the world. The majestic and most beautiful city wants to use it to show the power and mercy of God. It is difficult to say whether this idea is truly consistent with Christian doctrine. This is a huge theological issue. But the process of putting this idea into practice involved the gathering and spending of huge amounts of money, and it undoubtedly corrupted the hearts and minds of many church elites. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther (Martin Luther, 1483-1546) published his famous "Ninety-five Theses" (Disputatio pro) which challenged the Roman Catholic practice of selling indulgences. declaratione virtutis indulgentiarum), his criticism of the corrupt behavior of the church led to the religious reform movement quietly starting in the German-speaking areas; in 1527, Rome was finally invaded and sacked by rioters from the northern German-speaking areas who had lost their faith in Catholicism. This disaster marked the The end of the High Renaissance.
About the author: Zhang Yi , art history researcher, consultant of the Department of Clocks and Ancient Instruments of the Hermitage Museum in Russia, consultant of the French Pendulum Clock Gallery, consultant of the Guangdong Provincial Clock Collection Research Professional Committee, and also a mathematician and logician
