As I mentioned in the previous blog, I was so taken with the Raphael
exhibit at the Met that I went over to see it a second time.
That gave me time to really study his work.
This lovely painting was his first independent commission and may be the work that earned him the title of Magister (Master) in 1500, at the age of 17.
Apparently, his technique involved first sculpting the
figures in wax. That allowed him to
capture the composition.
Then he went back and worked the piece in chalk to add the
depth and detail. And in this case a
slight change in the head position.
I find myself wondering how he managed this. A ladder perhaps so he could look down on his
model?
He took advantage of his access to the Vatican Museum, and used Laocoon
as the model for Homer (upper left) in this drawing. That’s Dante on the lower left.
Speaking of the Vatican, these two guys
appear on the lower left of The Transfiguration - albeit fully clothed.
On this visit I also realized why I had underestimated
Raphael in the past. While his drawings
capture his 3D subjects beautifully,
His paintings flatten out the detail and favor what I call “Crayola”
colors – i.e. lots of bright primary colors that clash and do not create mood. They are however easier to distinguish from a
distance, so that is no doubt why he simplified and brightened his paintings.
Note that he also changed all of the head positions in
the final version as well.
Yes. I am a Raphael
fangirl now. If you visit you will be
too. 😉
Here are links to photos from the 2018 Grant Wood and Norman
Rockwell exhibits…
https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2018/06/grant-wood-whitney.html
https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2018/10/grant-wood-2.html
https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2018/08/norman-rockwell.html
https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2018/08/norman-rockwell-2.html
Enjoy!
PJ
© 2026 PJ Lehrer
