Raphael Rooms

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The Stanze di Raffaello (Italian for "Rooms by Raphael") in the Palace of the Vatican are papal apartments with frescoes painted by the Italian artist Raphael and his workshop.

The Rooms were originally intended as a suite of apartments for Pope Julius II. He commissioned the relatively young artist Raffaello Sanzio and his studio in 1508 or 1509 to repaint the existing interiors of the rooms entirely. It was possibly Julius' intent to outshine the apartments of his predecessor (and rival) Pope Alexander VI as the Raphael Rooms are directly above Alexander's Borgia Apartment.

The Rooms are on the third floor, overlooking the south side of the Belvedere Courtyard. Running from East to West, the rooms are called: The Hall of Constantine, The Room of the Heliodorus, The Room of the Segnatura and the Room of the Fire of the Borgo.

Hall of Constantine

The Baptism of Constantine

The Battle of Pons Milvius

The Vision of the Cross

The largest of the four rooms is the Hall of Constantine. Its paintings were not begun until Pope Julius and indeed, Raphael himself had died. The room is dedicated to the victory of Christianity over paganism. Its frescos depict this struggle from the life of the Roman Emperor Constantine. The fresco of The Vision of Constantine depicts the legendary story of a cross appearing to Constantine as he marched to confront his rival Maxentius. In the vision he saw a great cross in the sky with the words "In Hoc Signo Vinces" (in this sign, conquer). The Battle of the Milvian Bridge shows the outcome of that contest. Also are the Baptism of Constantine on his deathbed, and the Donation of Constantine the presentation of a document allegedly granting the popes sovereginty over their territorial dominions. The artists were students of Raphael, Giulio Romano, Giovanni Francesco Penni and Raffaellino del Colle Because they are not by the master himself, the frescos are often less famous than works in the neighboring rooms. Continuing a long tradition of flattery, Raphael's apprentices gave the features of the current pontiff, Clement VII, to Pope Sylvester in the painings.

Room of the Heliodorus

''The Expulsion of

The Mass at Bolsena

The Liberation of St. Peter

The Meeting Between Leo the Great and Attila

The next room, going from East to West, is the Room of the Heliodorus. It takes its name from one of the paintings. The theme of this private chamber was the heavenly protection granted by Christ to the Church. The four paintings are The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple, The Meeting of Pope Leo I and Attila, The Mass at Bolsena and The Liberation of St. Peter. The Expulsion recounts an event from the Book of II Maccabees where the thief, Heliodorus was trampled by horses while trying to steal the treasure of the Temple in Jerusalem. The Meeting of Leo and Attila depicts the storied parley between the Pope and the Hun conqueror, and includes the legendary images of Saints Peter and Paul in the sky bearing swords. Interestingly, Raphael first depicted Leo I with the face of Pope Julius II but after Julius' death, Raphael changed the painting to resemble the new pope, Leo X. The Mass at Bolsena depicts the story of a Bohemian priest in 1263 who ceased to doubt the doctrine of Transubstantiation when he saw the bread begin to bleed during its consecration at Mass. The Liberation of St. Peter shows a story from chapter twelve of the Book of Acts of an angel setting Peter free from prison. In all these paintings, Raphael flatteringly includes his patron, Pope Julius as participant or an observer.

Room of the Segnatura

The Stanza della Segnatura was the first to be decorated by Raphael's frescoes: it was the study in which the Signatura of grace tribunal was originally located. The artist's concept brings into harmony the spirits of Antiquity and Christianity.

The first composition Raphael executed in 1508 or 1509 is the so-called Disputa or Disputation of the Holy Sacrament, the traditional name for what is really an Adoration of the Sacrament. Toward the end of 1509, Raphael began work on the wall opposite the Disputa. This second fresco, entitled the School of Athens, represents the truth acquired through reason. Raphael began the third composition at the end of 1509 or the beginning of 1510. It represents Parnassus, the dwelling place of the God Apollo and the Muses and the home of poetry, according to classical myth. The two scenes on the fourth wall, executed by the workshop, and the lunette above it, containing the Cardinal Virtues, were painted in 1511.

The theme of this room is worldly and spiritual wisdom and the harmony which Renaissance humanists perceived between Christian teaching and Greek philosophy. The theme of wisdom is appropriate as this room was the council chamber for the Apostolic Signatura, where most of the important papal documents were signed and sealed.

The Disputa

The Disputa (detail)

Raphael, 1508-1509

Fresco, base 770 × cm

Vatican Palace

The School of Athens

Plato and Aristotle are standing in the center of the picture at the head of the steps. Diogenes is lying carefree on the steps to show his philosophical attitude: he despised all material wealth and the lifestyle associated with it. Below on the right is a great block of stone whose significance is probably connected with the first epistle of St Peter. It symbolizes Christ, the "cornerstone" which the builders have rejected, which becomes a stumbling block and a "rock of offence" to the unbeliever.

The Parnassus

The Parnassus (detail of Homer, Virgil and Dante)

Raphael, 1509-1510

Fresco, Base 670 × cm

Vatican Palace

Image:Raffael 073.jpg Image:Raffael 074.jpg Image:Raffael 077.jpg

The Cardinal Virtues

The Cardinal Virtues

Raphael, 1512-1515

oil on wood, 60 × 44 cm

National Gallery of Art

Room of the Fire of the Borgo

The Fire of The Borgo

The Battle of Ostia

The Coronation of Charlemagne

This room was named for Fire of the Borgo which depicts Pope Leo IV making the sign of the cross to extinguish a raging fire in the Borgo district of Rome near the Vatican. This room was prepared as a music room for Julius' successor, Leo X. The frescos depict events from the lives of Popes Leo III and Leo IV. The other paintings in the room are The Coronation of Charlemagne by Leo III, The Oath of Leo III before Charlemagne and The Naval Victory of Leo IV over the Sacracens at Ostia. Though the Incident of the Borgo was based on Raphael's mature designs it was executed by his assistants, who painted the other three paintings without his guidance.

External links

• [The School of Athens - Who is Who?]
• [The School of Athens] at the Web Gallery of Art
• [The School of Athens.] Interactive Map.

 

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