"Many have called him boring, a peddler of simpleminded beauty. At the Met, a blockbuster exhibition restores his standing."
"According to the critic John Ruskin, the disaster was called Raphael. The Renaissance master supposedly traded truth for beauty, and ended up destroying both."
"I found an artist so spongelike in his adoption of other styles, so dispersed in his influence on other artists, and so mythical in his stature that I could barely form a clear picture of him."
"Even though he died at the age of thirty-seven, reportedly from having too much sex-not from a venereal disease or a fantastic sex injury but literally from an excess of."
The Met's exhibition, "Raphael: Sublime Poetry," aims to restore the artist's reputation, countering claims of his work being boring or simplistic. Critics like John Ruskin labeled Raphael's art as a decline in European culture, arguing he sacrificed truth for beauty. The exhibition showcases the depth of Raphael's influence and style, revealing a complex artist who absorbed various influences and left a significant mark on art history. The show features rare works, emphasizing Raphael's enduring legacy despite historical criticisms.
Read at The New Yorker
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