Raphael Paintings
 

During the Italian High Renaissance, the world saw many great artists. The three giants of the period are considered to be Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci. The High Renaissance began with the end of the Early Renaissance in Florence. This was largely a result of the teachings of the monk Fra Girolamo Savonarola, who considered contemporary art to be immoral and so instilled a religious zeal in the commoners of Florence which scared most of the artists away to Rome. There, artists found security and many wealthy nobles looking to commission their talents, and so Rome became the new center of the Italian High Renaissance.

Ironically, Florence still remained a center of the study of art, and many High Renaissance painters were either trained there or drew influence from the Florentine style.

When Raphael emerged from his training, he had already surpassed his master in skill. His paintings are almost perfect in coloring and composition, and his figures have excellent proportion and expression. Most of his works are either traditional paintings or frescoes, but he also drew quite a bit and dabbled in architecture and even printmaking with the help of Marcantonio Raimondi.

Oil paint had just been introduced to Italy within the past century and was gaining popularity over the older medium of tempera, made of pigment mixed with a binding agent like egg yolk.  Raphael was able to use the new oil paints often with wonderful results, while using tempera on only a handful of works.