Chapter 5: Renaissance and Reformation "The Life of Raphael"

Introduction
Students have read about the great Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci and other artistic geniuses of the time, such as Michelangelo and Raphael. They learned that Raphael died young, on his 37th birthday, and was mourned throughout Rome. Yet Raphael accomplished much in his brief life.

Lesson Description
Students will go to the WebMuseum, Paris: Raphael Web site. They will then answer four questions about what they have read. Students are then asked to write a letter that a first-time viewer of Raphael's work might have written.

Instructional Objectives
1. Students will learn more about the influences on Raphael's work.
2. Students will learn about the most famous works of Raphael.

Student Web Activity Answers
1. He is probably best known for his Madonnas and his large figure compositions in the Vatican in Rome.
2. The writer mentions Perugino and also suggests that Raphael was influenced by both Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.
3. The writer believes the meaning is that love is never stationary but is given and returned, basing this interpretation on the position of the figures and the way the artist painted Mary's cloak.
4. Students' answers should suggest that the painter not only tried to capture the real personality of the subject but also gently avoided destroying the image the subject wanted to project to the world.

GO TO STUDENT ACTIVITY