Portrait of a Young Man Raphael (1483-1520)

Description of Raphael Santi’s Portrait of a Young Man

Raphael Santi’s portrait work has understandably been largely lost, but particularly valuable specimens such as Portrait of a Young Man continue to remain under the watchful eye of the world art community, as they are of exceptional artistic value.

A fundamental difference in his work after his acquaintance with Leonardo da Vinci can be felt in most of the portraits. His works from the Roman period are endowed with profound psychologism. The inner state of the portrayed young man is thoroughly reflected. His deep, full of curiosity look seeks to capture everything that man gives his young years.

The young man in the red beret humbly folded his hands on the stone table, but his cunningly folded lips show how powerful the energy the young man carries within him. For the artist himself, it is heartening to portray a young man full of hope and determination for the most risky endeavors. The local colors used in his image harmoniously echo the bright, lush coloring of the expanse of nature surrounding him, as unrestrained and wide as youth itself.

The poise (both color and structure) of the portrait composition gives no reason to doubt the artist’s skill. The landscape in the background of the young man is harmoniously united by such connecting elements as, for example, the winding path from the river, looking like the mouth of that very river, it seems to "flow" directly from the quiet water surface, which at any moment floods the plain with the power hiding under the water column.

Raphael Santi realizes in his romantic hero the best that the era of the weighty Renaissance created, in his young face, but full of interest in the world, are written the exceptional ideals of the time, cherished by the artist himself throughout his entire artistic life.