A bristle and a pen and a letter: Raphael and Baldassarre Castiglione

This essay want consider a letter of Raphael from Urbino(1483–1520), after the correction of Baldassarre Castiglione(1478-1529), Italian man of letters, that Raphael for thank made the portrait; anyway the content is alone matter of this essay, and I have seen a exaltation of classic culture, although Raphael known paint perfectly but he hasn’t knowledge about the language and Italian grammatical, hence we can think that this letter was written directly from Castiglione rather than he has alone corrected, but some step can enables to us understand the work of two brains, one deviser as Raphael and other literature as Castiglione, anyway the step said: “…because considering from the ruins, that we can see in Rome, the divinity of those old wits, I don’t esteem out from rationality. We believe that very much things to us seem impossible, instead to them were very easy.” This step allows to us consider the exaltation of Raphael of ancient architecture that in Rome were dominant, the judge that the painter has expressed: “We believe that very much things to us seem impossible, instead to them were very easy.”; it is the suggestion that Raphael and other has felt in front of the Roman ruins, and he has seen something that isn’t; as we can deny that Raphael has read the Treat on the architecture of Vitruvius, because he died in year 1520 and the first translated edition, from Latin to Italian is in year 1521, hence he hasn’t read Vitruvius, and I say it because other step reports: “…and reading the good authors confront the works to books; I think to reach something about the old architecture”, regard this affirmation we can’t doubt, but we must doubt, and deny it as a cock up very legendary, the text continues: “And it in a point gives to me a pleasure, for the knowledge of so excellent thing: and also great grief , because I am seeing almost the corps of that noble country, that has been queen of the word”; here Castiglione could intervene and inform Raphael that the time was past, but a personal memory of Francesco Petrarca(1304-1374), that in his letter written from Rome he has written: “I not amazing that Rome has governed the word, I am amazing because it has made it so late”; may we can think that Raphael didn’t knows the Protestant confession that from 1517 was present in Germany, because other step says: “…I am obliged to explain, every my small forces, so that more than it is possible stay alive of imagine, and almost the window of this, that is country of every Christian; notation regard other steps is necessary to limited the logic that Raphael and Castiglione have used for this letters: “The modern builds and of in our times are very famous, both because they are new, and for the style that isn’t so beautiful  in the time of imperators…”; we could ask to Raphael and Castiglione: “What are the buildings of Roman empire further the Domus Aurea, that during 16^th century was again under earth? What buildings today are again whole and visible? Because in Rome aren’t now as during the 16^th century”, but this letter is corrected and certainly also written by a letter man, Castiglione, that evidently around the art history was very low expert. The following text is alone a technical explication about the architecture drawing, but very boring.Anyway it is a document about the 16^th century and it is important because we can value the level of knowledge that the both literature man and a painter have had in that century, we can think that the knowledge then were limited, certainly but the men of letter known the history for the ancient sources, that hasn’t always excluded reference to builds or art, hence they haven’t knowledge about the artes.

Alessandro Lusana