Focus on this artwork and explore the Composition.
The presentation of the subject was unusual for its time. Previous Papal portraits showed them frontally, or kneeling in profile. It was also "exceptional" at this period to show the sitter so evidently in a particular mood—here lost in thought. The intimacy of this image was unprecedented in Papal portraiture, but became the model, "what became virtually a formula", followed by most future painters, including Sebastiano del Piombo and Diego Velázquez.  The painting "established a type for papal portraits that endured for about two centuries."  According to Erika Langmuir, "it was the conflation of ceremonial significance and intimacy which was so startling, combined with Raphael's ability to define the inner structure of things along with their outer texture".The painting can be dated to between June 1511 and March 1512, when Julius let his beard grow as a sign of mourning for the loss in war of the city of Bologna.  Raphael had also included fresco portraits of the bearded Julius, representing earlier popes, in the Raphael Rooms of the Vatican Palace, in The Mass at Bolsena, with portraits of his daughter Felice della Rovere and Raphael himself in the same group, and in the painting representing Jurisprudence round a window in the Stanza della Segnatura, as well as in the Sistine Madonna.The original hanging in the background was a blue and gold textile, either woven silk or embroidery, with gold emblems in tear shaped light blue compartments against a dark blue background. The emblems were the Papal crossed keys, the Papal tiara, and perhaps the heraldic oak tree of Julius's family, the Della Rovere ("Of the oak").  This was overpainted by Raphael with the green cloth now seen, which itself was painted over before 1824 to give a plain dark background.  The finials of the chair are also formed as acorns to represent the Della Rovere emblem.  The six finger rings with large jewels reflect another of Julius's obsessions, which caused Michelangelo to walk out from his service to him.According to the 1901 catalogue of the National Gallery, "This portrait was repeated several times by Raphael, or his scholars. Passavant enumerates nine repetitions...besides three of the head only." There is a possible cartoon for the London version in Palazzo Corsini, Florence, and a red chalk drawing at Chatsworth House.
Florence Papal tiara Stanza della Segnatura Julius Sistine Madonna crossed keys Raphael Passavant embroidery Michelangelo Vatican Palace acorn Erika Langmuir Chatsworth House Jurisprudence Della Rovere Bologna The Mass at Bolsena Felice della Rovere Diego Velázquez National Gallery Sebastiano del Piombo Raphael Rooms