Raphael immediately left for Florence, and at that time, he still studied with the leading artist in Florence; Perugino. Raphael became extremely successful in Florence, and with the influence of Leonardo Da Vinci, his paintings showed the monumental shapes, idealized faces and rich colors that Leonardo showed. Raphaels top paintings in Florence consisted of the Virgin and Child, and The Small Cowper Madonna. Between his seventeen Madonnas and several portraits Raphael was just getting started. His greatest achievements were to come during the 12 years he spent in Rome.
Raphael left for Rome in 1508, and was immediately put to work by Pope Julius II. Raphael mainly painted and decorated rooms in the Papal apartments. Raphael also painted in the library the four different branches of knowledge that was conceived in the 16th century. Two of his most outstanding achievements in the library were the Disputa which stood for religion and the School of Athens which stood for philosophy. In the Disputa, Raphael deviated from classical conventions and even though the contained serene idealism, they consisted of forshortened contrapposto poses. The School of Athens was considered amazing and the most outstanding out of Raphael’s four branches of knowledge. It summarized the ideals of the Renaissance papacy and contained many important figures in the time. When viewed through a trompe l’oel arch, the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle can be seen. Other important figure that can be seen include Apollo, and other different mathematicians, naturalists, astronomers, geographers and philosophers. As Raphael’s career progressed in Rome, he later worked for Leo X, Julius II’s successor, as a director of archaelogical and architectural projects in Rome. At the same time, Raphael was al painting cartoons of themes from the Act of Apostles. After suffering from an illness, Raphael died in 1520, at the age of 37.
Just like Raphael, Parmigianino also traveled to Rome. In 1524, Parmigianino brought 5 small paintings with him and headed to Rome. Two of his most well known paintings he brought with him were the Circumcision of Christ and Self- Portrait in a Convex Mirror. During the months in Rome, Parmigianino agreed to decorate the Church of Salvatore. When finished, the influence of Raphael could be easily seen. Raphael’s elegant content form and distortion of the figures can be seen throughout Parmigianino’s work. Within a year the Sack of Rome forced Parmigianino to leave and he headed back to Burma and Parma. Parmigianino left a deep impact in Rome and it was recorded that Parmigianino was “celebrated as Raphael reborn.
After coming back from Rome, Parmigianino settled in Bologna for 3 years. During his three years, he painted Madenna with Saint Margaret and Saints, Madonna of the Rosa and Madonna with Saint Zachariah. By 1530, Parmigianino headed back to Parma and resided there for the rest of his life. During his time in Parma, he was commissioned to two altar pieces in 1531. He was to depict Saint Joseph and Saint John the Baptist. Parmigianino was given a salary and materials to complete the project, but by 1535, the project wasn’t completed. AS time passed, Parmigianino became obsessed with etching and started to get him in trouble. Etching was the process of using strong acids and mordant to cut into unprotected parts of a metal surface. Parmigianino became a devotee of alchemy in 1538 and developed a fascination of magic. His obsession to trying to find new medium for his etchings fueled his obsession and forced him to complete little work during those times. Parmigianino ended up being thrown in jail for two months and was banned from completing the church. In 1540, PArmigianino died at the age of 37.
