Raphael
His mother Màgia died in 1491 when Raphael was eight, followed on August 1, 1494 by his father, who had already remarried. Raphael was thus orphaned at eleven; his formal guardian became his only paternal uncle Bartolomeo, a priest, who subsequently engaged in litigation with his stepmother. He probably continued to live with his stepmother when not staying as an apprentice with a master. He had already shown talent, according to Vasari, who says that Raphael had been "a great help to his father". A self-portrait drawing from his teenage years shows his precocity. His father's workshop continued and, probably together with his stepmother, Raphael evidently played a part in managing it from a very early age. In Urbino, he came into contact with the works of Paolo Uccello, previously the court painter (d. 1475), and Luca Signorelli, who until 1498 was based in nearby Città di Castello.
Transfiguration (Raphael)
The first descriptions of the painting after Raphael’s death in 1520 called the Transfiguration already a masterpiece, but this status evolved until the end of the 16th century. In his notes of a travel to Rome in 1577, the Spanish humanist Pablo de Céspedes called it the most famous oil-painting in the world for the first time. The painting would preserve this authority for more than 300 years. It was acknowledged and repeated by many authors, like the connoisseur François Raguenet, who analysed Raphael’s composition in 1701. In his opinion, its outline drawing, the effect of light, the colours and the arrangement of the figures made the Transfiguration the most perfect painting in the world.
Jonathan Richardson sen. and jun. dared to criticise the overwhelming status of the Transfiguration, asking if this painting could really be the most famous painting in the world: “Celui-cis est assurément le principal Tableau simple qu’il y ait à-present au Monde, & qui peut-être ait jamais été?” They criticised that the composition was divided into an upper and a lower half that would not correspond to each other. Also the lower half would draw to much attention instead of the upper half, while the full attention of the viewer should be paid to the figure of Christ alone.
This criticism did not diminish the fame of the painting, but provoked counter criticism by other connoisseurs and scholars. For the German speaking world, it was the assessment by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe that prevailed. He interpreted the upper and the lower half as complementary parts. This assessment was quoted by many authors and scholars during the 19th century and thus the authority of Goethe helped to save the fame of the Transfiguration.