Annotated Bibliography on Raphael and His Paintings

Raffaello Sanzio, Called Raphael -  Madonna and Child with Book

In this painting by Raphael, the balanced, serene figures are described simply and naturally. A lucid geometry organizes the composition, from the pyramidal grouping of the Madonna and Child to the geometric idealization of their faces and bodies. The deep, blue arch of the Madonna's silhouette encloses the figure of the Child and frames the book, which is further emphasized by the touching hands that hold it. The inscription in the book introduces the ninth hour, or Nones of the Canonical Offices, recited daily by all monastic communities. The Nones commemorates Christ's Crucifixion and Death. With eyes turned to heaven, the Christ Child contemplates His own sacrifice as man's Redeemer. Raphael has depicted more than just a beautiful image of the Madonna and Child he has created a meditation piece. The profoundly spiritual quality achieved by Raphael explains why his Madonnas were in such high demand

Annotated Bibliography

Brown, David Alan. "Raphael's "Small Cowper Madonna" and "Madonna of the Meadow": Their Technique and Leonardo Sources." Artibus Et Historiae 4, no. 8 (1983): 9-26.

The article by Brown, David Alan was written as a celebration of Raphael birthday more than five hundred years ago. It tried to study the technical aspect of his paintings such as Small Cowper Madonna and Madonna of the Meadow. The two paints are compared after the cleaning process by focus on their drawing techniques and their sources in Leonardo da Vinci work. Among the issues that are looked at are the support panel, paint film, fissures effect, materials used to paint, modelling, color, portraying of different features as well as literal design. The article also looks at various renovation and conservation of the painting and how they changed the painting.

Other paintings that have been compared include the Small Cowper Madonna, Virgin and Child with St. Anne, Benois Madonna and Virgin of the Rocks. The article is important for art student in understanding various factors involved in painting. Although it discusses paintings of the 16th century, modern painters can learn various techniques used in the past and which should be embraced today. It has a high clarity and articulate presentation of different The article may however not be highly valued as it does not discuss other artist painting techniques which could have enriched the reader's knowledge on painting.

Butler, Kim E. "Giovanni Santi, Raphael, and Quattrocento Sculpture." Artibus Et Historiae 30, no. 59 (2009): 15-39. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40343662.

The article by Kim E. Butler looks at various scholars who studied the paintings by Raphael. It looks at how these scholar study on art has changed over time and how different perspective can bring out the main content and concept of art. Among the issues discussed are training and artistic development of Raphael in early times and how they impacted on him and other artists. To understand this, the scholars looks at his painting techniques and then collaborate the information to the various contribution of the 1600 painters. The scholars consider Raphael as a lead painter in his group who had his styles and was later influenced by the Perugino in the 1500s. Among those considered to have influenced Raphael were Giovani Santi and Quattrocento. Among the artistic products, they produced included carvings, paintings, and sculptures. There are various paintings of Madonna holding the Child tenderly at different positions, some on a frame. The one that stands out is that of Madonna and child with a book where syncretic approach, essential motifs, excellent color mode and figural vocabulary has been used.

The article is richly cited meaning that is highly reliable. By discussing three artists, the article provided rich information related to the 16th-century art and how the artist was influenced by other artists. Among the important issues discusses include techniques, materials, inspiration and culture. However, the article fails to discuss Raphael during the Florentine period and its techniques

Dunkerton, Jill, and Nicholas Penny. "The Infrared Examination of Raphael's 'Garvagh Madonna'" National Gallery Technical Bulletin 14 (1993): 6-21. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42616071.

The Infra-red Examination of Raphaels Garvagh Madonna is an article that discusses one of the most famous painting by Raphael called the Garvagh Madonna. The painting has been analyzed at different levels as well as has observed different techniques employed by the painter. Most of this has been analyzed by using infrared light to identify details about color, painting equipment, painting techniques, brush movement and the background features. The author uses various painting examples to show a given feature to the ready so that they can have the same experience as with what the infrared light and the X-ray identified. In most paintings, the analyzer does not focus on exhibiting detailed and extensive underdrawings, but this article exhibits all these.

The article is satisfactorily referenced to indicate where most of the information was derived from. Dunkerton, Jill, and Nicholas Penny have been able to go an extra step in making sure that, any person who reads this article and especially arts student can relate to the work of Raphael as one of the most phenomenal painters of the 16th century. Different painting cuts are featured against every discussed feature to instill more understanding. This is one of the best articles in understanding a painting about lines, details execution, registration, and positioning, painting background, mode of painting, underdrawings.

PAGDEN, SYLVIA FERINO. "The Early Raphael and His Umbrian Contemporaries." Studies in the History of Art 17 (1986): 93-107. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42617995.

The author of this article has tried to capture Raphael career in Umbria in the 16th century. There are various paintings that feature in this article showing several painting techniques that were employed by Raphael during his career. The article looks at specific features such as technical proficiency, the color richness, shadows, color refinement, and foreshortening. It also looks at different artist techniques and compares them to those of Raphael such as Ansidei. The information available is important for an art student who endeavors to understand the history of painting as well as learn where various painting techniques originated from. However, the article is more determined to describe why the painting was done and not the techniques used. This can be seen in most of its content following each painting. It also explains about Raphael general life instead of focusing on his career and how he develop to be a renowned painter in the 16th century.

Van Buren, Anne H. "The Canonical Office in Renaissance Painting: Raphael's Madonna at Nones." The Art Bulletin 57, no. 1 (1975): 41-52. doi:10.2307/3049336.

The article by Anne focuses on Raphael's early Madonna that has featured recently in Norton Simon Museum of Art. The author looks at the painting contours, use of color and dating of the picture. The article has also discussed issues such as painting landscape. To get the bigger picture of the painting in the 16th century, various paintings and artists have been presented by the author. The inspiration of every painting and sculpture is outlined and various factors used in achieving the aimed result discussed. The design comparison is utilized to help the reader and art student relate to other painting for a deeper understanding. Such is in the comparison of the painting motifs and tight structure. Use of different techniques in painting has been used to produce a coherent design such as the use of tight brush strokes and special colors for precise contours.

The article also discusses the issues that were experienced by the artist during the painting as well as after the painting. The painting of Madonna has also been presented with more focus on the planning of the whole picture to produce the landscape and the figure of the child. This has been explained using artistic experience the author has. The article faces various challenges in its representation. First, it discusses the historical factors that do not relate to the paintings but involve the personal life of the artists. The second issue if the failure by the authors to discuss in details about the painting using artistic terms which makes it impact and help art students. The article is rich in discussing the idea of inscription in designing for life painting and inspiring various personal beliefs through a coherent High Renaissance composition

Bibliography

Brown, David Alan. "Raphael's "Small Cowper Madonna" and "Madonna of the Meadow": Their Technique and Leonardo Sources." Artibus Et Historiae 4, no. 8 (1983): 9-26.

Butler, Kim E. "Giovanni Santi, Raphael, and Quattrocento Sculpture." Artibus Et Historiae 30, no. 59 (2009): 15-39. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40343662.

Dunkerton, Jill, and Nicholas Penny. "The Infra-red Examination of Raphael's 'Garvagh Madonna'" National Gallery Technical Bulletin 14 (1993): 6-21.

PAGDEN, SYLVIA FERINO. "The Early Raphael and His Umbrian Contemporaries." Studies in the History of Art 17 (1986): 93-107. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42617995.

Van Buren, Anne H. "The Canonical Office in Renaissance Painting: Raphael's Madonna at Nones." The Art Bulletin 57, no. 1 (1975): 41-52. doi:10.2307/3049336.