Soon after he had finished these works at Perugia, Raphael paid a second visit to Florence, with the view of still farther improving himself in his profession. Having carried with him a letter of introduction from the duchess of Urbino to Pietro Soderini Gonfaloniere, he was soon admitted into the best circles ; but his at tention was almost entirely engrossed in studying the cartoons of Michael Angelo and Leonardo da Vinci, and the works of Masaccio, in the Brancacci and Cor sini chapels in the church of the Carmelites. His ac quaintance with Buccio della Porta, by others called Fra Bartolomeo, was of essential service to him. From him he learned the art of casting draperies, and the principles of colouring and chiaro scuro, and to Barto lomeo he taught, in return, the art of perspective.
The pictures which he painted at this time, were the portraits of Angelo Doni, and his wife Maddalena Strozzi, and a Madonna with the infant playing with St. John, brought by Elizabeth, who regards St. Joseph as he stands near, leaning both his hands upon a stick, and inclining towards her his head. This picture, which was painted for Dominico Cauregiani, seems to have been either retouched or completed in 1516, as Raphael's name, with the date, is written on the drapery of the Virgin in letters of gold.
During this residence at Florence, Raphael painted a cartoon for a picture bespoken by the Baglioni family at Perugia; but he now left Florence to paint it at the of St. Francis in Perugia. This picture, which has been greatly admired for the beauty and expression of the figures, and the superiority of the draperies, was one of our Saviour borne to the sepulchre, accompanied by the Virgin, St. John, &c, Pope Paul V. removed it from Perugia, and substituted a copy by Caesaild, d'Arpino. It- was afterwards found in the Borgherse Palace at Rome.
Upon his return from Perugia to Florence, he paint ed for the family of Dei, part of a picture for their altar, in Santo Spirito; and, about the same time, he executed for the city of Sienna, a picture of the Ma donna in an open country, with the child standing by her, and St. John kneeling before her. An invitation to Rome from Julius 11., induced him to ask his friend Ghirlandaio to finish a piece of the drapery in this pic ture, which was afterwards sold to Francis I., and is now in the collection of the Louvre, where it is known by the name of La Belle Jardinere. The picture above alluded to for the church of the Spirito, was bought from Raphael's heirs by Baldassare Turini, and placed at the altar of his country church. It afterwards came
into the possession of the Grand Duke Ferdinand.
When Raphael arrived at Rome, in 1508, Pope Julius received him with great benignity, and assigned to him the Camera della Segnatura. Here he began the School of Theology, or the Dispute of the Sacrament, a picture which is said to exhibit both the dry style of Perugino, and the more enlarged and the beautiful style to which Raphael afterwards attained.
In the same chamber, he executed the School of Athens;—the Parnassus, painted in 1512, in which he ha., introduced portraits of the great poets, both of an tiquity and of his own time ;—the Jurisprudence repre senting Justinian delivering to Tribonius his code of laws, and Pope Gregory IV. giving the decretal to a member of the Consistory. In circular spaces above each of these subjects, are painted figures, representing theology, philosophy, poetry, and justice.
The Pope was so highly pleased with the School of Theology, that he ordered all the chambers which were to be ornamented, to be intrusted to Raphael, and all the previous labours of Perugino, Pietro del Borgo, II Soddonta, and Bramante di Milane, to be removed. Raphael, however, preserved entire the ceiling executed by Perugino, and part of the ornamental labours of Il Soddonia.
During these great undertakings Raphael painted for the church at St. Augustin, the pictures of the Prophet Isaiah, and the Sibyls ; and also the portrait of Pope Julius, now in the Louvre, and several smaller pictures of Madonnas, and other Scriptural subjects. About this time, he also executed the Galatea for Agostini Ghigi, the Madonna di Foligno, at the desire of Segis niundo Conti, secretary of Pope Julius 11. This pic ture, which is now in the Louvre, was painted for the great altar of the church of Araceli.
Raphael executed many other works for the chambers of the Vatican. Among these are the Miracle of Bolsenna, when the priest is offering up the host, and perceives it distilling drops of blood ; St. Peter's lihera tion from prison; the Heliodorus; Atilla arrested by a vision ; St. Peter and St. Paul, in their journey to Rome ; all of which were completed between 1512 and 1514. For another chamber, he composed the lncen dio del Borgo; the Coronation of Charlemagne by Leo 1.11.; Leo III. defending his conduct to Charlemagne; and the landing of the Saracens at the harbour of Ostia.