Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (1483-1520), (known as Raphael) was an Italian artist best known for painting The School of Athens (1509-1511) in the Vatican. Wikipedia says,
"As earlier with Perugino and others, Raphael was able to assimilate the influence of Florentine art, whilst keeping his own developing style. Frescoes in Perugia of about 1505 show a new monumental quality in the figures which may represent the influence of Fra Bartolomeo, who Vasari says was a friend of Raphael." (Wikipedia: Raphael, 8.13.21 UTC 11:23)Wikipedia also says,
"His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur." (Wikipedia: Raphael, 8.13.21 UTC 11:23)The rest of this post is some quotes from Raphael.
Ancients and the divine
"The ultimate essence of yoga is the contact and the union between the individual consciousness and the divine consciousness." (Azquotes.com)
"Most Holy Father, there are many who, on bringing their feeble judgment to bear on what is written concerning the great achievements of the Romans - the feats of arms, the city of Rome and the wondrous skill shown in the opulence, ornamentation and grandeur of their buildings - have come to the conclusion that these achievements are more likely to be fables than facts. I, however, have always seen - and sill do see - things differently. For bearing in mind the divine quality of the ancients' minds as revealed in the remains still to be seen among the ruins of Rome, I do not find it unreasonable to believe that much of what we consider impossible seemed, to them, exceedingly simple." (Letter to Pope Leo X)
