Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1899-03-11

|
greatly injured by restoration, yet ha,
! divine pathos, and never, perhaps wn.
such loftily spiritual conception or
Christ. the Sufferer. painted.
Following these were the seven tanes-
Try cartoons that are now in the Ken
sihgton museum at London, made from
Raphael's designs. and whose majesty
anu righteousness. with their elegance
ana breadth of execution, need onlv he
named. VIC
IL would not be possible even to re.
Iounl mere the number of smaller paint
,,iGs' designs and drawings which
LIVED from this aifluent mind that en-
riched his age and all time by its over
nowinss like those of the Nile stream
ne last work or his llfe as if the
spr'hs we're not exhausted, but only
ceepened' was the TRANSPORTATION"
III winch his genius reached its highest
'oluihe In this picture he cave IN
exact translation of tho words os e. en-
matthew's gospel, and in this RENDERING
~" true unity Of the painting. which
~ otherwise somewhat confused. Is to
ne found. The agonizing griefs and
n ' s'rusgies of the lower earth
vanish away In the transcendent bona
and light of the opening heaven Th;e
l'taSterDiece stood unfinished in hia
| stun'o where he lay in death.
hapIacl died on the Anniversary NJ
, n, birih in 1920, and was buried in the
IN any just estimate of what Raphael
was ana accomplished it would be nm
lar to forget that he was but AZ vear.
olu When lie died. Michael Angelo In.
bored on until he was 80 and Titi,n
until lie was 80. Raphaers was tha
w"rk OF young man. and the serenity
~ ~ caine from the sweet depth OF his
nature rather than the accumulated
wisdom of his years. While he founded
school OF painting, there was nothing
Oh the school man about him. for he
was dynamic rather than mechanics
eietti'c rlther than academic. His
genius was his rule. All things seemed
10 help him. 1t has been said that no
was the favcrite OF nature and art. Son
OF an artist. he opened his eyes on tho
beautiful vale of Umbria, the land of
deVout painters. He met none of the
'0"Gh trials OF other artists. Patron
isc came without seeking. lie worked
1oyfuliy as high priest of art PoDes
n'bies ana kings did him honor He
vas oil pure heart, else how could such
freshness innocence and angelic sweet
ness have flowed from him as morn
Ing light? He may be called n religious
painter and the evidence would be the
Spasimo, and the "rransfguration."
IN which the face OF the risen Lord
bears reflection of the eternal glory.
In the 'Sistine Madonna" the wide eyes
of the child look on and out-as king
OF the universe while he sits cnthroned
IN the arms OF human maternal love-
10 work of such high poetic magma
ton it would be entirely out of place to
apply the theories OF scientific and me-
chanical criticism. Raphael had by
nature religious spirit, but with this
difference, that he was separated from
the earlier and more devout school Of
Italian religious painters. He was not
mystic. and portrayed sacred truths
and events from the point OF view of a
clcar-minded artist. His first pictures
one has said. are as if painted in n
nuEEery, in IL tabernacle of virginia.
purity; but he emerged from this holy
retreat and left the Umbrian valley
over which st. Francis stands rs guar
dian. and came out into the busy world
OF men. the luxurious courts of princes,
the halls of learning and the dazzling
splendors OF the papal church. In this
new and seductive life his moral ma
turc became furnished and lost its sim
pie. unconscious conservation. The
subtle weltgeist entered into him, but
did not wholly destroy his essential no
blencss. lie was an artist rather than
monk. The church might use but
could not control him. And Ruskin
| has, perhaps with good reason. charac-
| teri2ed the Italian religious painting OF
| the trecentisti age as pre- Raphaelite."
| l. was 50 us contradiStinguished from
| the pagan clement that stole into RAJ
| phacl'S painting from his love of the
antique and above all. because his
| genius was at its base Hellenic. An
| old Greek would have recognized this
, under Christian forms. The lovely Gal
| atea," propelled on the pillows by Tri-
| tons blowing horns and surrounded by
| flying cupds, would have delighted
| him. This element of beauty, combined
with scientific learning. changed the
| character of the art of the sixteenth
| century into something more splendid
| but less earnest; and yet Raphael did
| mot nj 10 oil i'm, Ia hair irvi
| Gus, n Christian, artist while at the
| same time the sincerity OF his early art
| was affected. There is one thing. how
ever, 10 be said. that while "pre-Ra-
I RlrteliteA art, the art MI Ruskin-
| vaunts, soon sunk into absolute man
nerism and imbecillty, Raphael's art.
less ccclesiastic and having nature and
| freedom. possessed the germ of all flu
turc development in modern art.
Technically, Raphaers highest merit
| is his grand breadth of composition. He
was the greatest master of the quality
| of space composition" learned 1t may.
| b.. from Perugino, but seen in higher
perfection in Raphaers larger paint
| ings like the "Sposalirio," the school
oG Athens" and the "Disputa,' In which
last another says. there is a balance
of masses and all lines flow to one
| point, giving unity.
The happy middle point which RAJ
| phael reached between the rude realism
of nature and the finer idealism OF art
is seen in his utterly human Madonnas,
| with their honey colored hair, soft eyes
and bare feet, and yet with the moth
er's look of infinite love. They are wo-
men. not celestial beings
Raphaels portraits alone are great
theme. What Il calamity was the loss
of his portraits OF Lorenzo da Medict
ard EliZabctta, duchess of Urblnol
What rugged power, fire and cynic en-
| ergy are concentrated in his likeness OF
julius H.. and what strong coloring
and coarse mundane character in that