Raffaello Sanzio (attributed)
Miracolo degli impiccati
1500 – 1501
Oil on board
Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale, Pisa
The work is considered part of the predella of the “Incoronazione di San Nicola da Tolentino” altarpiece, which is likely Raphael’s first professional commission.
Commissioned to Sanzio and Evangelista di Pian di Meleto in 1500 by Andrea di Tommaso Baronci for his chapel in the Sant’Agostino church in Città di Castello, it was completed in 1501. The painting depicts scenes from the life of Saint Nicholas. Critics attribute the work to Raphael, recognizing the artist’s hand in the central part of the painting, specifically the saint, the gallows with the two hanged men, and the background landscape.
Raffaello Sanzio
Stendardo della Santissima Trinità
1499-1501
Oil on canvas
Pinacoteca Comunale, Città di Castello
The Trinità with saints Sebastiano and Rocco, along with the Creation of Eve, were originally the two faces of a painted banner for the Church of the Trinità in Città di Castello. They later arrived at the Pinacoteca Comunale of the same city, where they are still preserved. The complex, consistently attributed to Raffaello, is linked to the plague that broke out in Città di Castello in 1499,and is therefore considered to have been created around 1500, likely as an ex-voto.
Raffaello Sanzio
San Sebastiano
1502-1503
Oil on board
Accademia Carrara, Bergamo
San Sebastiano was painted when Raffaello was not yet twenty years old, yet it stands out for its extraordinarily fine execution and mastery in the use of light.
Raffaello Sanzio
San Giorgio e il drago
1505-1506
Oil on board
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
It is widely believed that the portrait of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, who was honored with the Order of the Garter by King Henry VII of England, features him wearing the golden ribbon with the inscription “HONNI” on his left leg. This ribbon is part of the Order’s motto, and the portrait is thought to be Montefeltro’s gift to KingHenry VII.
Raffaello Sanzio (attribuito)
Ritratto d’uomo
1505-1506
Oil on board
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
The painting is attributed by some critics to the young Raphael. The man portrayed is identified as Perugino, his master.
RaffaelloSanzio
Sposalizio dellaVergine
1504
Oil on board
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan
The painting SposaliziodellaVergine by Raphael, dated 1504, originally came from the church of San Francesco in Città di Castello and was transferred to the Brera Gallery in 1805. Raphael wasinspired by the altarpiece by Perugino, now conserved at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Caen, drawingfromthe compositional layout and iconography to achieve extraordinaryperfection.
The reflectograms reveal a dense network of converging lines towards the temple door, which defines the perspective layout of the image in full respect of the indications provided by Piero della Francesca’s treatise “De prospectivapingendi.” This artifice makes the temple the optical center of the composition, and the position of the figures, arranged in a semicircle, balances the convex architecture. Its precision suggests that it was based on a wooden model.
All elements are linked by mathematical proportions and are arranged according to a precise and tight hierarchical order. This coherent organization fully expresses Raphael’s views, who considered beauty an abstract order of geometrics and believed it was the artist’s task “to do things not as nature does but as it should do.”
Raffaello Sanzio
La Madonna del Granduca
1506 – 1507
Oil on board
Galleria Palatina, Florence
The Madonna del Granducabelonged to the painter Carlo Dolci. It was acquired by Ferdinando III of Tuscany in the late 18th century. This painting is one of the most famous and beloved works by Raphael. The artist demonstrates his ability to render the sacred immediate and human. The painting was created by Raphael around 1506-07 during his time in Florence, when Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Fra Bartolomeo were producing their masterpieces.
Raffaello Sanzio
Madonna del cardellino
1506
Oil on board
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
The painting was created during Raphael’s stay in Florence from 1504 to 1508. According to the artist’s biography, Giorgio Vasari reports that this painting was commissioned for the wedding of Lorenzo Nasi and Sandra di Matteo Canigiani, which took place on February 23, 1506.
Through the study of the laws of proportion in nature and the works of Perugino, Fra’ Bartolomeo, and Leonardo, Raphael was able to create images of ideal beauty, harmony, and perfection in their simplicity, yet also dynamic and vital.
Raffaello Sanzio
Ritratti di Agnolo e Maddalena Doni
1504- 1507
Oil on board
Galleria Palatina, Florence
The two paintings respectively portray AgnoloDoni (1474-1539), a wealthy cloth merchant and prominent member of the Florentine upper bourgeoisie, and his wife, the aristocrat Maddalena Strozzi (1489-1540), whom he married on January 31, 1504. According to Giorgio Vasari, the works were commissioned to Raphael by Agnolo himself.The two portraits originally formed a diptych, held together by a “folding frame”.
Raffaello Sanzio
La Gravida
1507 circa
Oil on board
Galleria Palatina, Florence
The woman in the portrait has been identified by Virzì as a noblewoman from the Bufalini family, a noble family from Città di Castello, and by Filippini as Emilia Pia da Montefeltro. It is more likely that the woman is a member of one of the Florentine families that commissioned works by Raphael.
Raffaello Sanzio
Ritratto di giovane con pomo meglio identificato con Francesco Mariadella Rovere duca di Urbino
1504
Oil on board
Galleria Palatina, Florence
One of the hypotheses advanced regarding the identity of the man depicted in a half-length bust on the background of gentle hills with trees is that he is Francesco Maria dellaRovere, who was named heir to the Duchy of Urbino in 1504. He was the nephew of Pope Julius II dellaRovere and the adopted son of Elisabetta Gonzaga and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, the sole heir of Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza. This position might be alluded to by the symbolic golden apple.
Raffaello Sanzio
Ritratto di Elisabetta Gonzaga, Duchessa di Urbino
1502
Oil on board
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
Elisabetta Gonzaga, the wife of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, was a prominent figure in the cultural life of her time. She was passionate about literature and art, and it was in her presence that the dialogues for the “Cortegiano” by Baldassarre Castiglione took place. Castiglione celebrated her as the embodiment of grace, the quintessential quality of a perfect noblewoman. The painting’s fine execution is reminiscent of Flemish examples that Raphael had seen and studied during his youth in Urbino, particularly the works of Giusto di Gand and Pedro Berruguete in the Duke’s study
Raffaello Sanzio
Ritratto di Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duca di Urbino
1503-1504
Oil on board
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
Guidobaldo da Montefeltro was the last descendant of the Montefeltro family to rule Urbino. After his death in 1508, he was succeeded by Francesco Maria I Della Rovere. The portrait of Guidobaldo, together with that of his wife Elisabetta Gonzaga, forms a sortof diptych followed by that of their son Francesco Maria I Della Rovere.
The painting arrived in Florence in 1631 with the assets of Vittoria dellaRovere, the last descendant of the paternal family that came to an end that same year with the death of her grandfather, Duke Francesco Maria II dellaRovere.
Raffaello Sanzio
Ritratto di Papa Giulio II
1511-1512
Oil on board
Galleria Palatina, Florence
The historical events and attributive circumstances are linked to thebeliefthat Raphael’s portrait of Julius II was displayed to the public in S. Maria del Popolo. Some have identified this portrait asthat which arrived in Florence as part of Vittoria dellaRovere’s inheritance (1694). However, in recent times, another rendition of this portraithoused at the National Gallery in London, after arestoration that revealed its superior executional quality to the Florentine painting, has been recognized as Raphael’s workfrom S. Maria del Popolo. As a result of this hypothesis, widely accepted or considered plausible by most critics, it is generally believed that the Uffizi portrait is a workshop replica or preparatory work in which Raphael’s intervention is accompanied by the activity of assistants.
Raffaello Sanzio
La Madonna Niccolini-Cowper
1508
Oil on board
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
The painting on the panel is from the Niccolini family collection in Florence.On the border of the Virgin Mary’s cloak, “MDVIII.RVPIN” is inscribed, which translates to “1508. Painted by Raphael of Urbino.”
Raffaello Sanzio
La Madonna d’Alba
1511
Oil on board transferred to canvas
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
After spending years in Florence, Raphael moves to Rome in 1508 to execute the great commissions of Pope Julius II dellaRovere. From the Roman period is the Madonna d’Alba or of the Duke of Alba. The composition shows the Virgin seated directly on the ground rather than on a celestial throne, and the figures are skillfully aligned to placethe narrative image in the foreground. This runs from left to right to suggest the destiny for which Jesus came into the world. Indeed, between the inviting arms of the Virgin and under her conscious gaze, Jesus, still a child, accepts the cross from the kneeling young John the Baptist.
Raffaello Sanzio
Soggetto Ritratto di Tommaso Inghirami detto “Fedra”
1510-1511
Oil on board
Galleria Palatina, Florence
Tommaso Inghirami, a letterato born in Volterra in 1470 and protected by Lorenzo il Magnifico, was educatedin Rome under the historian and humanist Pomponio Leto. The nickname “Fedra” camefrom his interpretation of the title role in Seneca’s tragedy, where he distinguished himself for his ability to compose in Latin. Among the many official positions received from the Pope, he was appointed Prefect of the Vatican Library in 1510, and it was at this moment that the portrait by Raphael was executed.
Raffaello Sanzio
Madonna dell’Impannata
1511-1512 circa
Oil on board
Galleria Palatina, Florence
The painting was commissioned by BindoAltoviti and confiscated by Cosimo I, as Altoviti supported the militias against the Medici. Radiographs conducted on the painting revealed two figures in the area now occupied by the San Giovannino, identified as San Giuseppe and another San Giovannino. The identification of the two saints (St. Anna or St. Elisabeth) is unclear, and the saint in the background is tentatively identified as Santa Caterina.
Raffaello Sanzio
Doppio ritratto
1516
Oil on board
Galleria Doria Panphilj, Rome
Despite various interpretations, the work likely depicts the two Venetian scholars Agostino Beazzano and Andrea Navagero, portrayed with extraordinary skill, during a trip to Rome in 1516, where they met Raphael. The masterpiece belonged to Pietro Bembobefore being donated by the humanist cardinal to his disciple Beazzano in 1538.
Raffaello Sanzio
Bindo Altoviti
1515
Oil on board
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
BindoAltoviti, a banker and a man of culture with a refined taste for the arts, was an important patron of the Renaissance.
Raffaello Sanzio
Ritratto del Cardinale Bibbiena
1516
Oil on board
Galleria Palatina, Florence
Bernardo Dovizi (Bibbiena, 1470-1520) was a man of letters and diplomat, a close friend and trusted collaborator of Pope Leone X. He wears the official attire and supports his right arm on the armrest of the chair while holding a letter in his right hand, on which the words “Sanctissimo d(omi)no nostro Pap…” are written, clearly addressed to the Pope.
Raffaello Sanzio
Visione di Ezechiele
1517-1518
Oil on board
Galleria Palatina, Florence
This small painting is identified asthe one that Vasari describes in the life of Raphael as “a Christ to use as Jupiter in heaven and around the four Evangelists, as described by Ezekiel.” The scene actually depicts an episode from the Book of Ezekiel and presents the Eternal Father at the center, raising his arms in a blessing, supported by two cherubs, an eagle, a bull, and a lion, which symbolize the evangelists John, Luke, and Mark, while Matthew is depicted as an angel wearing a blue-violet cloak.
A wreath of angelic heads populates the fiery sky. Below, beneath the cloud layer, an extensive landscape of land and sea opens up. On the left, a beam of light falls on two figures flanked by a horse, one of which is generally identified as the prophet Ezekiel.
Raffaello Sanzio
Estasi di Santa Cecilia
1518
Oil on board transferred to canvas
Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna
This famous painting, a masterpiece of Raphael’s maturity, depicts the moment of ecstasy of Saint Cecilia, where the saint allows the pipes of the portable organ she still holds toslip from her hands, symbolizing earthly joys, and turns her gaze towards the choir of angels,symbolic of divine love. The saints surrounding her are not involved in Cecilia’s mystical experience, but they equally express, through the play of glances, the idea of absolute love in contrast to earthly love. Saint Paul meditates, observing the musical instruments on the ground, while Saints Giovanni and Agostino are engaged in an intense dialogue of glances. Maria Maddalena turns to the observers, inviting them to witness the mystery and showing the vase containing the oil with which she, moved by love, anointed Christ’s feet.
Raffaello Sanzio
Madonna della Seggiola
1512 circa
Oil on board
Galleria Palatina, Florence
The painting was originally intended for private worship. Its compositional complexity and certain details of the Madonna’s throne make it plausible that it was executed for a high-ranking figure in the papal court or even Pope Leone X himself.
Raffaello Sanzio
La Velata
1512 – 1515
Oil on board
Galleria Palatina, Florence
The veil placed on the hair, which inspired the title of this magnificent portrait, indicates the condition of a married woman, but the identity of the protagonist remains uncertain. According to Giorgio Vasari (1550, 1568), who saw the painting when it was in the house of the merchant Matteo Botti in Florence, it would be the portrait of Margherita Luti, known as the Fornarina, who was loved by Raphael until her death. However, the woman’s lavish clothing and jewelry suggest that it might be the portrait of a young noblewoman, executed by Raphael on commission.
Raffaello Sanzio
Ritratto di Leone X tra i cardinali Giulio de’ Medici e Luigi de’ Rossi
1518
Oil on board
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
The painting by Raphael arrived in Florence by early September 1518, in time to be placed “on the table” for the nuptial celebrations of Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino, and Madeleine de la Tour d’Auvergne, the nephew of Pope Leone X. The Pope himself, depicted from the side with a gold-rimmed lens in his hand, was a notable guest at the banquet, accompanied by two Medici cardinals, his cousins Giulio de’ Medici and Luigi de’ Rossi. Pope Leo X, known as Giovanni de’ Medici in his secular life, is shown holding an open, richly illustrated Bible, a masterpiece of 14th-century Neapolitan book production, illuminated by the prominent court miniaturist Cristoforo Orimina for Queen Giovanna I of Naples
Raffaello Sanzio
San Giovannino
1518
Oil on board
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
The San Giovannino by Raphael follows an iconographic model inspired by medieval sources and the “Lives of the Baptist” or “Stories of Saint John the Baptist” circulating between the 15th and 16th centuries.
The narrow cartouche in the right hand bears the word DEI, the final part of the formula ECCE AGNUS DEI, which Giovanni Battista will use as an adult to address Christ, recognizing him as the awaited Messiah, the savior of men. The left hand points to a radiant cross tied to an oak trunk, symbolizing Jesus’ destiny and sacrifice. The waterfall on the left alludes instead to Christ’s purity and the baptism he will receive from Giovanni himself in the waters of the Jordan River.
Raffaello Sanzio
La Fornarina
1520
Oil on board
84.3 x 60.9 cm
Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica
Palazzo Barberini, Rome
The young woman in the painting is traditionally identified as the Fornarina, the lover of Raphael, identified as the Sienese Margherita Luti, daughter of Francesco, a baker in the Santa Dorotea district of Rome. There is no record of who commissioned the work, which could support the hypothesis that Raphael painted it for himself in his later years.
Regardless of whether she was indeed Raphael’s lover, the face in this portrait conceals that of Venus. The pose of the hands, one resting in the lap and the other on the breast, follows the model of the “Venus pudica” in classical statuary: a gesture of modesty that, however, directs the viewer’s gaze precisely to what is meant to be hidden. Symbols of the goddess of love are also the woman’s bracelet, on which is inscribed “Raphael Urbinas,” the artist’s signature and a token of their love bond.