Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520), the great Florentine Renaissance painter who created his most famous work in Rome, was also an architect and one of the first archaeological draftsmen. Raphael was commissioned by Pope Julius II to
Portrait of Raphael Sanzio. (Corbis)
Paint frescoes in the Vatican, and the images he used in these alone would testify to his close observation and knowledge of the ruins of the classical world and to his ability to reconstruct them. However, one of his greatest achievements was associated with his appointment in 1514, by the Medici pope Leo X, to design the basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican. As part of his preparation Raphael studied the architectural ruins of Rome in an effort to create a new style melding Rome’s glorious past with its powerful Christian present.
As a consequence of these detailed studies Raphael wrote to Leo X requesting that the pope halt the destruction of significant ancient ruins. He noted that in the twelve years of his living in Rome so much had been lost that “it has been the shame of our age to have permitted it” (Schnapp 1996, 341). In response, Leo X commissioned Raphael to survey and record ruins so that they might be reconstructed. This task was apparently finished in 1519, but few drawings survive, and the study was never published. Raphael also recommended that the buildings, statues, and architectural material not be used as sources for contemporary buildings, but it was to be fourteen years before Leo X established the Offices of the Papal Commissioner of Treasures and other for Antiquities and Mines to control the exploitation of Rome’s heritage.
It is the letter itself that had the greatest and most immediate impact. In it Raphael recommended that the study of art and archaeology be taken seriously, and he introduced two concepts on which the study would be founded: period style and classical orders. Raphael’s proposed survey and reconstruction of ancient Rome, and his descriptions and analysis of classical architecture and classical style with which he argues in support of conservation and reconstruction, had a major impact on other artists, scholars, and architects. The survey and recording methodologies Raphael and his staff developed clearly demonstrated that the material evidence of the past could be valued as a source of knowledge and not just as building material. So too the interest of historians in classical texts, and the interest of antiquarians in coins, gems, and pottery, spread to other cities in Italy, creating a broader interest in and respect for remnants of the past.
Raphael died prematurely in 1520, and Michelangelo finished the design of St. Peter’s in his stead. Raphael did, however, finish the superb frescoes in the Logge Vaticane commissioned by Leo X, which not only reflect his extensive knowledge of the classical world, but also his investigations into, and reproduction of, ancient stucco and fresco painting techniques. They stand as one of the most remarkable artistic achievements of the Italian Renaissance.
See also Foundation of the Palazzo dei Conservatori (1471): Foundation of the Ac-cademia dei Lincei (1603).
Further Reading
Schnapp, A. 1996. The discovery of the past. London: British Museum Press.
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