“ Here lies Raphael: when he was living, nature feared he would defeat her, now that he is dead, she fears her end is near.”

From the team that has produced “The Vatican Museums”, “Florence and the Uffizi Gallery” and “St. Peter’s and the Papal Basilicas of Rome”, we are privileged to see a stunning examination of the life and works of one of the greatest Renaissance artists.

Widely regarded and celebrated as an “enfant prodige” by both his peers and generations to follow, together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael completed the triad of Renaissance Masters.

Raphael’s life and works traced the development from the arts of the Renaissance to Mannerism bringing the figurative arts to unprecedented heights.
He died young, aged 37, on his birthday, and yet managed to leave an unforgettable mark on the artistic world.

The film, inspired by 18th Century paintings depicting fragments of Raphael’s life, uses both stereoscopic 3D cameras and the most advanced dimensionalisation techniques and includes valuable commentaries by important critics.

The documentary is lushly, luminously photographed in amazing detail. It is set in 20 locations, two of which are major exclusives – the Vatican Logge and Cardinal Bibbiena’s apartment in the Apostolic Palace. These are both private places which are not open to the public.

There are panoramic aerial shots of Florence and Rome. in particular. The film explores more than 70 works of art, featuring 30 of the most famous and representative of Raphael’s work, including ‘The Marriage of the Virgin’, ‘Madonna del Cardellino’ (Madonna of the Goldfinch), ‘The School of Athens’ and the ‘Sistine Madonna’.  Not forgetting ‘Madonna of the Pinks’, ‘Madonna of the Meadow ‘, as well as his portraits of his wealthy patrons, and his own self portraits.

There are several rushing angels and cheeky cherubs in his works. Many of the major works are caught in extreme close up and well analysed by the commentators.

Raphael was born in 1483 and died in 1520. He ran a huge workshop and was enormously productive. Many of his works are found in the Vatican palace. Most of his works are paintings , fresco or otherwise, ( regarded as groundbreaking at the time) but also include tapestries and architectural designs. among other things He was appointed architect of the new St Peter’s but most of his work there was destroyed or changed after his death and following the acceptance of Michelangelo’s design.

He was also involved in the design of other buildings for various wealthy patrons ). He is regarded as one of the greatest draughtsmen ever.

Raphael was born in Urbino and sadly his mother passed away when he was eight years old. His father was a major influence on his life. Raphael was apprenticed at a young age to the painter Perugino. His first documented work was the Baronci altarpiece for the church of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino in Città di Castello, a town halfway between Perugia and Urbino. Eventually he moved to Florence from about 1504 and became friends with Leonardo da VInci , artistic rival to Michaelangelo … and by 1508 he had moved to Rome where he stayed for the rest of his life.

His deathbed scene in the movie – which says he died possibly of malaria- is similar to a Carravaggio painting in some ways .
Actor and director Flavio Parenti (To Rome With Love, Io sono l’amore, Un Matrimonio) plays Raphael Sanzio who acts as narrator in parts remembering his life and introducing us to his life and world with terrific historical reconstructions so we become immersed in Raphael’s world.

There is a fabulous scene where he visits Leonardo da Vinci and we see a ‘flying machine’ Leonardo developed which is especially entrancing in 3D .

The lavish , extremely detailed costume and set designs have been created by two of the top talents in current Italian cinema, Francesco Frigeri and Maurizio Millenotti.

This was an entrancing film examining the life and works of one of the great masters of arts.

RAPHAEL : lORD OF THE ARTS screens at  selected arthouse cinemas from May 27 2017.

Running time allow roughly 100 minutes no interval.