Portraits of Leo X, Cardinal Luigi de' Rossi and Giulio de Medici
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition
Max Resolution:1928×2552 PX
Title:Portraits of Leo X, Cardinal Luigi de' Rossi and Giulio de Medici
Artists:Raphael
Date:1518
Style:High Renaissance
Genre:portrait
Medium:oil,panel
Location:Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy
Dimensions:155.5×119.5 cm
Copyright:Public domain
The Portrait of Pope Leo X with two Cardinals is a painting by the Italian High Renaissance master Raphael, c. 1517. It is housed in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence.
In contrast to works depicting classical, idealised Madonnas and figures from antiquity, this portrait shows the sitter in a realistic manner. The Pope is depicted with the weight of late middle age, while his sight appears to be strained. The painting sets up a series of visual contradictions between appearance and reality, intended by Raphael to reflect the unrest of a period of turmoil for the papacy. Martin Luther had recently challenged papal authority, listing among other grievances, Leo X's method of selling indulgences to fund work on St Peter's.
The pommel on top of the Pope's chair evokes the symbolic abacus balls of the Medici family, while the illuminated Bible open on the table has been identified as the Hamilton Bible.
The cardinals are usually identified as Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici and Luigi de' Rossi.
In contrast to works depicting classical, idealised Madonnas and figures from antiquity, this portrait shows the sitter in a realistic manner. The Pope is depicted with the weight of late middle age, while his sight appears to be strained. The painting sets up a series of visual contradictions between appearance and reality, intended by Raphael to reflect the unrest of a period of turmoil for the papacy. Martin Luther had recently challenged papal authority, listing among other grievances, Leo X's method of selling indulgences to fund work on St Peter's.
The pommel on top of the Pope's chair evokes the symbolic abacus balls of the Medici family, while the illuminated Bible open on the table has been identified as the Hamilton Bible.
The cardinals are usually identified as Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici and Luigi de' Rossi.