1509 - Rome, Italy
The artist put down his paintbrush, stepping back from his work. It was not finished, it spanned only a quarter of the vast wall he had been commissioned to cover, but for the day, he was done. He was working on a portrait of classical magnificence, the classical masters conversing with one another, sharing ideas and debating philosophy. The height of the Renaissance demanded a rebirth of classical ideas and classical teachings. There was outlined Aristotle and Plato walking together in the centre. Raphael had not reached that far and so to any on-looker the figures were two pencil outlines on a wall soon to be covered in wet plaster and painted over. But to him, they were the masters of teaching. He looked at the composition of the painting and was immediately struck with dissatisfaction.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAstKTGJj3
At the bottom, to the left of the centre, was a space. A space he had previously disregarded. He looked at it now, as the sun set outside over the city of Rome, and was hit by the emptiness of the void. He had intended the gap to signify the importance of Aristotle and Plato, to show them walking forward into the unknown and leading the world of ancient knowledge. But the lack of presence just to the left of this gap threw the whole thing off centre.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzakzxNgSHd
Raphael's brow furrowed and his eyes scanned the painting once more. Perhaps he was tired, perhaps it was the light and perhaps it was because the rest of the painting was not finished yet. He shook his head and vowed to wait until the painting was finished before deciding on adding another figure, once added it could not be taken away, but once the painting was finished, a figure could be added if necessary.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwmF3cG4OA
Pleased and confident that he had made the right choice, he packed away his tools and materials and left Vatican City for home and bed.
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Three days later, he began on Aristotle and Plato. Plato he painted as an older man, wise and confident. But the face, thought Raphael, whose face best represents this? The answer was not far from his mind. Long had he admired the artist Da Vinci and long had he wanted to commemorate his contemporary and what better way to do this?880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCkneTrhks
Plato was pointing upwards, wearing a sash of rose pink. Raphael smirked to himself. Leonardo was renowned for wearing shades others would deem feminine. Aristotle walked beside him, younger and fairer, with his hand outstretched. It appeared almost as if the two were in deep conversation.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGXYkHV8xsT
Raphael scanned the left side of the painting; the side that was finished. He had Pythagoras bent over a book of theorems, he had Alexander the Great furnished in bright gold armour, he had Socrates and Parmenides. All these figures he had preserved on this wall inside Vatican city. He was pleased with these, and began to finish Aristotle and Plato. He added shading to their robes, and definition to their faces. He gave the both of them books and portrayed them almost as if they were frozen in the middle of movement. Reminiscent of Da Vinci's The Last Supper, all of the figures here were in the middle of something. Raphael could almost hear their conversations, hear their debating and hear the scratch of Pythagoras' pencil as it scraped across the parchment he was so absorbed in.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP49Yn6m5eA
And yet, that gap. That ominous gap that struck a chord of discontent so deep within Raphael. But who to fill such a gap with?880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxuYr7dLcR3
Struggling with his conscience, he decided to take a break and stroll in the courtyard of the Vatican. Putting down his paintbrush, he told his assistant that he would return in thirty minutes or less.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2vvYws5los
"Be careful you do not stray too near the chapel, Michelangelo is working on the ceiling today and he is not in an agreeable mood." His assistant said, wiping the paint from his brushes.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhw1Hlzex0k
Raphael smiled slightly. "Of the few times I have encountered Michelangelo Buonarrotti, never has he been in an agreeable mood!"880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTqZDR9u1n
He left the rooms he was working in and walked out into the sunshine. He passed the chapel and wondered why it was that Michelangelo kept the chapel locked at all times. He had no assistants working with him, just himself, alone for days on end, lying on a scaffold as high as the ceiling with the paint dripping onto his face and mixing with the sweat that the Italian summer induces.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Dt3zZqh4t
He stopped walking and paused to look at the exterior of the chapel, wondering what was occurring inside at that very moment.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0o8tD9fSYC
The papal secretary, at that moment, walked past Raphael and smiled.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQeHGLTrbW
"You too are wondering what he can possibly be hiding inside there?" He asked and Raphael nodded.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJlXrwTdqQC
"I have seen it." He said quietly. Raphel began to open his mouth to ask how, when Michelangelo kept it under lock and key, when the secretary produced from his robes a set of keys.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnFVM4Uc57
"These open every door in the Vatican. Including the door to the Sistine Chapel."880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FdTv3Gy0s
"Does Buonarrotti know you have seen his work?"880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5vNBYRQR6
"If he knew, my friend, I think he would put down his paintbrush and stop working. He has worked on it for a year already and he has painted almost one side. There is still a vast amount to be done, of course, but he shows true determination both to paint his masterpiece and to keep it a secret until it is done."880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWPncMHsz1
Raphael nodded, glancing once more at the outside wall of the chapel.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5RlzOW5W8
"I hear you yourself are almost done. I happened to be strolling past those rooms three days ago, and I must applaud you on your skill with the paintbrush."880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPn8q71sq11
"I thank you, but I must ask, how different is Michelangelo's technique? What does he paint in there that makes him so adamant that it is kept secret?"880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8k7Q2nxvm
"I could tell you, artiste, or I could show you." The secretary said with a raised eyebrow.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLpTsq8aqX1
Raphael almost laughed aloud.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEMf1HlnwOv
"I propose that you work late on your painting tonight. When Michelangelo has finished for the day, we will go and look upon the figures on the Pope's ceiling."880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn42fTyuSVJ
Raphael nodded eagerly and rushed back to his painting, waiting for the sun to set and for Michelangelo to leave.
Raphael sent his assistant home at five PM. The secretary arrived just before seven. He beckoned with his finger and lead Raphael through the rooms and down stairs and up stairs until they arrived at the door of the chapel. The key turned in the lock and the doors opened to a room filled with pink light from the sun that was an hour or two away from setting.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7iJ4MngX9
Raphael gazed on the figures on the ceiling with wonder and he found that he could find no words. The large scaffold obscurred part of his view and so he moved around the large room in order to best glimpse the figures that were completed. He marvelled at the ceiling for perhaps an hour before the secretary had to pull him away.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xA2bNosBQ
The next morning, Raphael's heart was lifted. He returned to the gap in his painting and added Heraclitus, sitting on the steps and working intently on a scrap of paper before him. Raphael did not struggle with the face, for he knew instinctively who he wanted to be the face of the classical philosopher.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHLwQvWftD
And so he preserved Michelangelo in his painting and gave him the most respect any painter could give to another.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RoS4dvg1C
Michelangelo would work on his painting for another four years, finally putting down his brush in 1512, exhausted and his eyesight significantly worse than what it had been before he started. The pope's ceiling was a masterpiece, and although Raphael did not envy Michelangelo the strenuous effort it took for him to create such a thing, he envied his willpower, his strength and his determination.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVxWPZuU2so
Michelangelo Buonarrotti, he thought to himself, I applaud you.
"Without having seen the Sistine Chapel one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving." - Johann Wolfgang Goethe, August 1787
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A/N - It is only a rumour that Raphael somehow got into the Sistine chapel before it was finished but I would like to think that it is true - Raphael finished painting in 1509, Michelangelo in 1512, and yet something inspired Raphael to add Michelangelo to his painting (for he was a last minute addition) before the Sistine was officially finished.880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdHdrYsGtfa
Also if anyone has any interest on the art of the Vatican, in particular the paintings of Raphael and of the Sistine Chapel, I would utterly recommend the film that is out in cinemas at the moment, the 3D Vatican Museums Tour. (I saw this two weeks ago and it was spellbinding to see such paintings on such a big screen and in such detail and definition. However in my local cinema it was only on for one night only, and I live in quite a big city so it may not be shown everywhere!)880Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1GbMQNGSo
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