MICHELANGELOS BROKEN NOSE (1) Early in 2013, experts were excited to have found what they thought was the earliest yet known Raphael. It was the ‘Mystical Marriage of St Catherine’, and they dated it around 1496: Unfortunately, though, although signed by Raphael, it was also dated (very faintly in the bottom right hand corner just below the sticker, and on the hands), as having been painted in 1499, not as early as thought. It’s not the earliest: there is another dated 1496. Expert opinion was more wildly out on this one though – they had dated it at 1518-1520, some twenty years off target: P21-raphaelselfportraitwithfriend Raphael is said to have painted himself with a friend, which is odd, because if the expert date were correct, Raphael would have been 35-37. Do either of these guys look that old to you? There’s a lack of joined-up thinking here. Indeed, we can see the shadowy real date on the cuff to the far right, about the size of the gentleman’s thumb. It says ’96’. Raphael would have been 13, so it is the clearly the work of a prodigy, but neither of the guys here is Raphael. He tells us who they are, though. The one on our right is Adamo, the elder brother of Michelangelo, who we know better as ‘Lionardo Buonarroti’. What then of the younger chap on the left? Raphael wrote around the head that he is Michelangelo himself. This is what he looked like at 21, seemingly before his nose was broken.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 21:36:25 +0000
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