Kenneth Clark TV - Tim Marlow TV - Matthew Collings TV - Raphael: In Search of Beauty TV -
Michelangelo and Raphael were to some extent the creation of Julius: without him Michelangelo would not have painted the Sistine ceiling, nor would Raphael have decorated the papal apartments. Kenneth Clark, Civilisation 5/13: The Hero as Artist, BBC 1969
Raphael was above all a man of his age. Even in his early work still painted in the clear self-contained style of the fifteenth century he has begun to absorb and harmonise all that was being felt or thought by the finest spirits of his time. He is the supreme harmoniser. ibid.
For centuries Raphael’s painting was held to be the most complete expression of the values of the Italian Renaissance. While his older contemporaries sought to re-produce Nature, Raphael sought nurture and an idealised vision of the world. He was a sensualist whose work was graceful and harmonious, and for many in his world came closest to visual perfection. Great Artists With Tim Marlow s1e5: Raphael, Sky Arts 2003
One subject among all others – the Madonna and child. ibid.
Raphael continued to thrive in Rome. He was universally admired for his painting and also for his manners. ibid.
For the next four centuries in many respects Raphael was the dominant figure in western art. ibid.
We’ve forgotten how to value the Renaissance. We can learn how radical it was looking at them in great detail. Seeing how the micro relates to the macro. And by thinking about it in a new way. Matthew Collings, Renaissance Revolution: Raphael, BBC 2010
Raphael paints himself at 22. His life story is a fabulous dream of artistic extremes. ibid.
Realism, technique – there are painting elements here that make you feel you are seeing reality. And the main one is colour. ibid.
And again, in medieval art, truth is first, beauty second; in modern art, beauty is first, truth second. The medieval principles led up to Raphael, and the modern principles lead down from him. John Ruskin, Pre-Raphaelitism
Raphael – the prince of painters. One of the three Renaissance gods. Raphael: In Search of Beauty, Sky Arts 2016
Many of his paintings capture this magic light, and the gaze of a beautiful woman. ibid.
A meticulous attention to detail ... One of the greatest artists of all time. ibid.
‘The Pope asks him to paint his private apartments.’ ibid.
He revolutionised the concept of the artist’s studio. ibid.