DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.53068#0170
RAPHAEL
mingles in the chord of almost all the other compartments, modulated by one
means or another to the angels. In most cases this gives an appearance of greater
massiveness in the lower portion of the compartment, so that the ascent into
the ethereal becomes inevitably apparent in colour also.
Once again we may recall the foreshortenings of Melozzo, and his sunlit
colours, of the brilliant effect of which a delightful impression can still be gained
from the fragments from the SS. Apostoli, with the pale gold spots of the haloes
forming a gentle transition into the blue. The new feature in Raphael’s work was
this: an entire architectural conception was allowed to culminate in a luminous picture,
and all the soaring motives arising out of the space below were made to culminate their
upward sweep in the vision of the Most High—
“Quasi di val andando al monte” (Paradiso, 31, 120).
§ Dante and Beethoven
Once again we are listening with Raphael to the echo of the dome of the
Pantheon. Dante’s verses ring in our ears; the words of the Psalm come to life,
in the very rendering given to them by Dante in his Convito (Canzone 1, Tratt. 2,
Cap. 6), but the whole of literature does not explain how Raphael came to
be blessed with the power of discovering the ascent from the earthly materialism
of architecture to the serene regions of the gods, of making credible in colour
the harmony of the spheres, of causing their ordered ranks to move gently
forward in obedience to the commands of the Lord, and finally of giving to
God all the might that resounds from the words of the 19th Psalm:
“The Heavens declare the glory ...”
Fortunately for us, much in the higher realms of art remains incompre-
hensible; so also does this. How close is the gesture aroused in Raphael’s
imagination by the rhythm and pathos of this text—the uplifting alike of arms
and voice—to that which Beethoven must have experienced, in his sphere, at
the words:
. . . “ihr Klang pflanzt sei—nen Namen fort”.
§ Latest Style
We feel that neither Michael Angelo nor Melozzo had anything to do with
the style and rendering of these visions; they represent the maturity of all the
conceptions that display in the earliest works of Raphael a genius already
independent and familiar, as none other was, with the other world. Unfortun-
ately, in Raphael’s case, by the decree of fate, we may not speak of the style of
his old age, but this, his latest style, which characterises the lustre of his creativity
before the end, was the style of consummation. Figure, form, space with varied
recession and lighting—he has now complete mastery over all; he is attracted
152
mingles in the chord of almost all the other compartments, modulated by one
means or another to the angels. In most cases this gives an appearance of greater
massiveness in the lower portion of the compartment, so that the ascent into
the ethereal becomes inevitably apparent in colour also.
Once again we may recall the foreshortenings of Melozzo, and his sunlit
colours, of the brilliant effect of which a delightful impression can still be gained
from the fragments from the SS. Apostoli, with the pale gold spots of the haloes
forming a gentle transition into the blue. The new feature in Raphael’s work was
this: an entire architectural conception was allowed to culminate in a luminous picture,
and all the soaring motives arising out of the space below were made to culminate their
upward sweep in the vision of the Most High—
“Quasi di val andando al monte” (Paradiso, 31, 120).
§ Dante and Beethoven
Once again we are listening with Raphael to the echo of the dome of the
Pantheon. Dante’s verses ring in our ears; the words of the Psalm come to life,
in the very rendering given to them by Dante in his Convito (Canzone 1, Tratt. 2,
Cap. 6), but the whole of literature does not explain how Raphael came to
be blessed with the power of discovering the ascent from the earthly materialism
of architecture to the serene regions of the gods, of making credible in colour
the harmony of the spheres, of causing their ordered ranks to move gently
forward in obedience to the commands of the Lord, and finally of giving to
God all the might that resounds from the words of the 19th Psalm:
“The Heavens declare the glory ...”
Fortunately for us, much in the higher realms of art remains incompre-
hensible; so also does this. How close is the gesture aroused in Raphael’s
imagination by the rhythm and pathos of this text—the uplifting alike of arms
and voice—to that which Beethoven must have experienced, in his sphere, at
the words:
. . . “ihr Klang pflanzt sei—nen Namen fort”.
§ Latest Style
We feel that neither Michael Angelo nor Melozzo had anything to do with
the style and rendering of these visions; they represent the maturity of all the
conceptions that display in the earliest works of Raphael a genius already
independent and familiar, as none other was, with the other world. Unfortun-
ately, in Raphael’s case, by the decree of fate, we may not speak of the style of
his old age, but this, his latest style, which characterises the lustre of his creativity
before the end, was the style of consummation. Figure, form, space with varied
recession and lighting—he has now complete mastery over all; he is attracted
152