The Parnassus

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The Parnassus: Raphael

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Raphael Various Paintings - The Parnassus

Keywords: Parnassus

Work Overview: The Parnassus
Artist Raphael
Year 1511
Type Fresco
Dimensions 670 cm (260 in) wide
Location Apostolic Palace, Vatican City

The Parnassus is a fresco painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael in the Raphael Rooms ("Stanze di Raffaello"), in the Palace of the Vatican in Rome, painted at the commission of Pope Julius II. It was probably the second wall of the Stanza della segnatura to be painted, in about 1511, after La disputa and before The School of Athens, which occupy other walls of the room.

The whole room shows the four areas of human knowledge: philosophy, religion, poetry and law, with The Parnassus representing poetry. The fresco shows the mythological Mount Parnassus where Apollo dwells; he is in the centre playing an instrument (a contemporary lira da braccio rather than a classical lyre), surrounded by the nine muses, nine poets from antiquity, and nine contemporary poets. Apollo, along with Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, inspired poets.

Raphael used the face of Laocoön from the classical sculpture Laocoön and His Sons, excavated in 1506 and also in the Vatican for his Homer (in dark blue robe to the left of centre), expressing blindness rather than pain.[3] Two of the female figures in the fresco have been said to be reminiscent of Michaelangelo's Creation of Adam, Euterpe and Sappho, who is named on a scroll she holds.[4] Sappho is the only female poet shown, presumably identified so that she is not confused with a muse; she is a late addition who does not appear in the print by Marcantonio Raimondi that records a drawing for the fresco.

The window below the fresco Parnassus frames the view of Mons Vaticanus, believed to be sacred to Apollo. Humanists, such as Biondo, Vegio, and Albertini, refer to the ancient-sun god of the Vatican.

The third composition for the Stanza della Segnatura represents Parnassus, the dwelling place of Apollo and the Muses and the home of poetry, according to classical myth.

Mount Parnassus, the home of Apollo, is, like the hill of the Vatican, a place where in ancient times there was a shrine to Apollo dedicated to the arts. This has a direct bearing on the picture because through the window on the wall where the fresco is painted there is a view of the Cortile del Belvedere and the hill of the Vatican. There were newly discovered classical sculptures in the Cortile, such as the Ariadne that Raphael used as a model for the muse to the left of Apollo.

Apollo plays a lira da braccio (an anachronism which, according to some, was meant to symbolize the perpetual value of the poetic message). He sits under a laurel grove with the nine Muses (who personify the nine types of art). The most eminent classical and contemporary poets are depicted together in a harmonic ascending and descending movement from left to right. Homer is flanked by Virgil and Dante, Ovid and Horace are next to Sappho, while from the "ranks" of moderns we can identify Petrarch, Boccaccio and Ariosto. Petrarch is recognizable in the group in the left foreground; so is Sappho, who holds a scroll bearing her name; Ennius is seated above them, listening to the song of the blind Homer (who appears as a protagonist, like Apollo), behind him stands Dante, who had also appeared in the Disputa as a theologist, evidently because of the doctrinal content of the Divine Comedy. Some see the portrait of Michelangelo in the bearded figure immediately to the right of the central group, although it is more readily identified with Tebaldeo or Castiglione, for the scene is, after all, a celebration of poetry.

Raphael in several sketches significantly changed some of the details, including the musical instruments used. In the early versions Apollo played on a traditional stylized classical lyre, but this fresco shows him playing a Renaissance lira da braccio with a bow. The bow was unknown in Antiquity, although later they attributed its invention to Sappho. It has nine, instead of seven, strings to match the number of Muses; this, in Raphael's conception, signifies timelessness, just as the fact that the classical and contemporary poets are depicted together.

While working on this fresco, the artist may have become acquainted with that ancient sarcophagus from Asia Minor which is adorned with the relief sculpture of the nine Muses. This was his source for the three additional instruments shown in this fresco: Erato's kithara, to the right of Apollo, the Lydian aulos of Eutherpe, on the other side, and below, the strange, tortoise-shell lyre of Sappho - all of which he rendered striving for archeological accuracy.

In this fresco, music fills the role of moving force behind the Apollonian universe, at the same time being the symbol of poetry.

Compositional harmony and visual counterpoint characterize the fresco: the groups of figures are bound together by continuous lines and the single characters are represented in opposed but corresponding poses. Although the Parnassus lacks the high originality of the School of Athens, it demonstrates Raphael's illustrative ability. It is enriched by classical elements which must have held great appeal for a cultural class excited by the recent archaeological discoveries. Thus we must add Raphael's capacity to interpret contemporary taste to his genuine artistic skills.

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The Parnassus is one of the four frescos Raphael painted on each of the interior walls of the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican Palace. It was the third fresco that Raphael created between 1510 and 1511 AD for the art patron Pope Julius II.

Raphael chose Mount Parnassus as the setting for his painting, most probably because Delphi (the shrine of the God Apollo, ruler of music, poetry and fine arts) resided upon its slopes. Apollo is also the focal point of this painting. He is sitting under a laurel tree playing a lira da braccio (an instrument of the Renaissance's time), while surrounded by the nine Muses and various renowned poets.

The poets vary from pre-classical antiquity to the modernity of Raphael's time include: Homer, Alcaeus, Sappho, Anacreon, Virgil, Horace, and Ovid to Dante, Boccaccio, Ariost, and Petrarch. That antiquity and modernity are represented symbolizes the timelessness of poetic art.

By gender, there are 10 females, the nine Muses plus the Greek poet Sappho, and 18 males, the god Apollo and 17 male poets. Historians have only been able to identify only about 12 of the 18 poets. Five of the figures possess musical instruments.

Mount Parnassus according to ancient Greek myth was the mountain on which the Muses often met and Apollo had his chief seat. Here, as per the fancy of the ancients, the poets, historians and dramatists came to draw inspiration. Raphael's The Parnassus has made a great company of gods and goddesses, and ancient and modern poets through an imaginary scene. In this mythic realm, time and space are as nothing and the poets are united in the higher fellowship of the inspired imagination.

The Parnassus was among the first great paintings which Raphael executed in the Vatican, and the grace and harmony which mark his later works are here shown. The painting is also as another illustration of the great revival of learning which took place in Raphael's day.

The old literature of Greece and Rome had been rediscovered after being forgotten under the ignorance and the fighting of the Middle Ages. It was brought to light through paintings like Raphael's, who as an artist took delight in the statues which had been found and the other signs of Greek and Roman art.

The Stanza della Segnatura (Signature Room) was used for much of its history as a meeting room for the Tribunal of the Curia. However, in 1958 it was deemed that the room should become the Pope's personal library. As a result, Pope Julius II decided that the room should be decorated to honor past officers and followers of the Church. To perform this work he commissioned Raphael (then working in Florence) with the task of covering the walls and ceiling with frescoes.

The Parnassus brings into harmony the spirits of Antiquity and Christianity of the poetic arts. The overall theme of the Stanza (decorated by Raphael practically by himself) is worldly and spiritual wisdom, along with the harmony which Renaissance humanists perceived between Christian teaching and Ancient Greek philosophy.

Composition:
The Parnassus is a large fresco measuring 670 cm wide at the base. It was Raphael's third major composition for the Stanza Della Segnatura and depicts the theme of poetry. It is located directly adjacent to the School of Athens.

The Parnassus frames a view of Mons Vaticanus, enclosed by Bramante's Belvedere. In the painting Apollo sits upon Mount Parnassus, his head raised upright in acknowledgement of his gift surrounded by the nine Muses. He is also together with the great poets of antiquity along with Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio.

Raphael drew upon an unprecedented range of classical sculpture and musical instruments for his frieze-like composition. This is with the exception of Apollo's lira da braccio, which was a modern instrument of the Renaissance. Furthermore, Apollo's lira da braccio has been customized by Raphael with two extra stings to bring the total number to nine, the same amount as the Muses, and thus symbolizing harmony.

The poses of the figures and the drapery used were adapted from statues. For example, the seated Apollo is an adaptation of a statue from the Grimani collection. The heads of the Muses and Homer were similarly copied from the now recently discovered Laocoon.

In The Parnassus the nearly unbroken linkage of Apollo to the Muses and poets is a reworking of the relief composition of the Roman sarcophagi, not found in the early stages of the design, which is known only by recovered drawings by Raphael and engravings form Raimondi. The classical inspiration was combined with concern to reduce the intrusive window, making it impossible for the spectator to figure out the relationships occurring at the side of the windows to the main field above. He covered the edge of the window on the left with a mountain, and Sappho's arms and lyre. In the painting she therefore becomes a part of the group of poets standing behind the frame and the window.

This ambiguity extends to the relationship of the foreground groups to the relationship with the Muses on Mount Parnassus. The poet at the furthest right of the picture appears to be closer to the viewer than Apollo, but in fact, both have the same relationship to the frame. This means that there is a comparable position in space which reduces the depth of the composition.

Raphael changed the details of the fresco in several successive sketches. For example, in earlier versions of The Parnassus Apollo played a traditional classical lyre, but the fresco has him playing lira da braccio with a bow. In this fresco, music fills the role of moving force behind the Apollo's universe, at the same time being a symbol of poetry.

Color palette:
Raphael's nearly perfect sense of color is legendary. His mural painting technique included the use of permanent lime proof pigments, dispersed in water, which were painted on freshly laid lime plaster. However, The Parnassus is not revered solely for its use of color, more so the overall poetic beauty.

Use of light:
The lighting is very logical and consistent with reality and has been used to reduce and add depth to the composition.

Mood, tone and emotion:
Compositional harmony and visual counterpoint characterize The Parnassus. The groups of figures are bound together by continuous lines and the single characters are represented in opposite corresponding poses. Although The Parnassus does not contain the same amount of originality as his School of Athens it demonstrates his illustrative ability. Classical elements are included in the piece which would have held great popular appeal for a class excited by archaeological discoveries. Raphael therefore demonstrates his capacity to interpret contemporary taste to his genuine artistic skills.

Brush stroke:
Raphael's brushstroke included the use of Secco (the technique of painting a mural on dried lime plaster or retouching a fresco after it was hardened) and Intonaco (putting the final coat of plaster on the fresco while it is still wet) techniques.

Unlike other monumental works of that era (the Sistine Chapel for example) The Parnassus's unveiling and critical reception was not spoiled by any reservations concerning its content. One can ascertain that Raphael's work was well received because of the greatly expanded artistic responsibilities he was given after the artwork's completion.

During life:
Before Raphael's frescoes in the Stanza della Segnatura were complete in 1514, he was already one of the most celebrated painters in Europe. The Parnassus was seen as just one example of his genius among the backdrop of works such as the School of Athens. Whilst not as critically acclaimed as this latter piece The Parnassus has always been viewed as one of the more sublime examples of High Renaissance art.

After Death:
In his book 'The Lives of the Most Excellent Architects, Painters, and Sculptors', 1568, Giorgio Vasari, writes;

"... On the wall towards the Belvedere, containing the Mount Parnassus and Fountain of Helicon, he made a shady laurel grove about the mount... The poets scattered about the mountain are remarkable in this respect, some standing and some writing, others talking, and others singing or conversing in groups of four or six according to the disposition. Here are portraits of all the most famous poets, both ancient and modern, taken partly from statues, partly from medals, and many form old pictures, while others were living. Here we see Ovid, Virgil, Ennius, Tibullus, Catullus, Propertius and Homer, holding up his blind head and singing verses, while at his feet is one writing. Here in a group are the nine Muses, with Apollo, breathing realities of delicate Petrarca, and amorous Boccacio, all full of life; Tibaldeo is there also, and numerous other moderns, the whole scene being done with exquisite grace and finished with care. "

Raphael's artworks have always been held in the highest regard by fellow painters and critics alike. Whilst The Parnassus has endured less success than the works of Michelangelo or Leonardo da Vinci or indeed his other works such as The School of Athens and the Sistine Madonna, it remains a classic piece of High Renaissance art and an integral part of his overall genius being studied ever since its creation in 1511 into the 21st century.

From the time of Raimondi no artist's works have been as frequently engraved as those of Raphael. There is an enormous collection of copper plates in the Regia of Rome depicting his pictures from engravers during the 18th and 19th centuries. Electrotypes of the copper plates are still worked and books of the engravings and photos of his work are still published. The Malcolm, Oxford, British Museum, Lille, Louvre, Dresden and other collections of Raphael's works have been published and many illustrated monographs still exist.

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This is just one of the four frescos Raphael painted on each of the interior walls of the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican Palace. It was the third fresco that Raphael labored on between 1510 and 1511 A.D. for the art patron Pope Julius II. The other three works include The Disputa, The Cardinal Virtues, and The School of Athens, which is arguably his most famous work (Joost-Gaugier 2002). Raphael chose Mount Parnassus as the setting for his painting, perhaps because Delphi resided upon its slopes. Delphi is the location of the sacred shrine of the God Apollo, who ruled over music, poetry, and other fine arts. Notice how Apollo is also the focal point of this painting. He is sitting under a laurel tree playing a lira da braccio, while surrounded by the nine Muses and the various renown poets. The lira da braccio is characteristic of the Renassance period and did not exist in antiquity. Similarly, the poets vary from pre-classical antiquity to the modernity of Raphael�s time. They range from Homer, Alcaeus, Sappho, Anacreon, Virgil, Horace, and Ovid to Dante, Boccaccio, Ariosto, and Petrarch. These two aspects of the fresco symbolize the timelessness of poetic art (Kren & Marx).

This picture show the detail of Homer amongst the other poets in Raphael�s painting. He is flanked by Dante and Virgil on his left and right respectively (Kren & Marx ). Homer is singing in the presence of his potential �ideal family�. To his right, a young man attentively listens to Homer, taking notes, and perhaps transcribing his oral poetry into written text.

"...On the wall towards the Belvedere, containing the Mount Parnassus and Fountain of Helicon, he made a shady laurel grove about the mount...The poets scattered about the mountain are remarkable in this respect, some standing and some writing, others talking, and others singing or conversing in groups of four or six according to the disposition. Here are portraits of all the most famous poets, both ancient and modern, taken partly from statues, partly from medals, and many form old pictures, while others were living. Here we see Ovid, Virgil, Ennius, Tibullus, Catullus, Propertius and Homer, holding up his blind head and singing verses, while at his feet is one writing. Here in a group are the nine Muses, with Apollo, breathing realities of delicate Petrarca, and amorous Boccacio, all full of life; Tibaldeo is there also, and numerous other moderns, the whole scene being done with exquisite grace and finished with care."
Giorgio Vasari, The Lives of the Most Excellent Architects, Painters, and Sculptors,2nd edition, Forence, 1568

Raphael's 'Parnassus' in the Vatican is the paradigmatic representation of the subject where Apollo on Parnassus is surrounded by the muses and famous poets, from which all later versions drew inspiration. Since the room in which it was painted, the Stanza della Segnatura (thought to have been the private library of Pope Julius II r. 1503–13) was not publicly accessible until well into the seventeenth century, it was Marcantonio's print that established its canonical status. Numerous differences between the engraving and the completed fresco, however, indicate that the engraving records an early idea for the composition based on a lost drawing by Raphael.

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