Eighth article in the Raphael series. To work on the argumentative structures of advanced Italian, book a private online lesson or join the course waiting list at my-italian-teacher.ch.
The artworks at a glance
Portrait of Pope Julius II
- Date: 1511 (between summer 1511 and spring 1512)
- Medium and size: oil on poplar panel, 108.7 × 81 cm
- Location: National Gallery, London (NG27); other versions, now considered copies, in the Uffizi and the Galleria Borghese
Portrait of Leo X with Cardinals Giulio de’ Medici and Luigi de’ Rossi
- Date: c. 1518
- Medium and size: oil on panel, 155.5 × 119.5 cm
- Location: Uffizi Galleries, Florence
Two popes, two ideas of power
In Rome Raphael worked for two very different popes: Julius II della Rovere, the “warrior pope”, and Leo X de’ Medici, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, a refined collector and bibliophile. For each he painted a portrait that changed the history of the genre. Raphael’s papal portraits abandon the profile view and the purely ceremonial image and introduce something new: the psychology of power.
The National Gallery in London notes that the portrait of Julius II became the model for ecclesiastical portraiture for the following two centuries. Titian, Velázquez and many others would measure themselves against this scheme. The portrait of Leo X, on the other hand, is one of the first great group portraits in which the pope appears both as a ruler and as a man of learning surrounded by his family.
Comparing Raphael’s papal portraits is a good exercise in argument, which is why the Italian workshop covers consecutive and concessive clauses.
1. Julius II: the pope with a beard
A careworn face
Julius II sits on a chair upholstered in red velvet, shown in three-quarter view and slightly from above. He wears the camauro, the papal cap of red velvet trimmed with ermine, and the mozzetta, the short red cape over the shoulders. His gaze is lowered, his lips pressed together; one hand grips the armrest, the other holds a handkerchief. It is the portrait of an elderly, tried man who is still determined.
The beard as a date
The most famous detail is the white beard. Julius II wore it for about a year and a half as a sign of mourning for the loss of Bologna during the war against the French. The beard is what allows the painting to be dated: according to the National Gallery, the portrait was probably painted soon after the pope returned from his military campaign in Emilia-Romagna on 27 June 1511. The art historian Mark Zucker devoted a well-known article to the subject, Raphael and the Beard of Pope Julius II (1977).
Family symbols
Two golden acorns shine on the finials of the chair: they allude to the family name, della Rovere, because rovere is Italian for oak. The precious rings on his fingers recall the dignity of the pontiff.
The green background and the discovery of the original
The green background replaced a different one during the painting process, as technical examinations have shown. The National Gallery suggests that the choice may have been prompted by the portrait of Sixtus IV, Julius II’s uncle, painted by Justus of Ghent for the Ducal Palace in Urbino, where Raphael’s father had been court painter. For centuries the Uffizi version was believed to be the original; in 1970 Cecil Gould, studying X-rays of the London panel, demonstrated that the National Gallery picture was the original, an attribution now generally accepted.
After the pope’s death in 1513 the portrait was displayed in the Roman church of Santa Maria del Popolo. Vasari says it was so lifelike that it frightened those who looked at it, as if the pope were still alive.
2. Leo X: the humanist pope
The scene
Leo X, born Giovanni de’ Medici, sits at a table covered with a red cloth. On his right (the viewer’s left) is his cousin, Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici, the future Pope Clement VII; on his left Cardinal Luigi de’ Rossi, also a cousin, who rests his hands on the back of the chair and looks towards the viewer. The portrait is therefore also a dynastic statement: the Medici family at the summit of the Church.
The illuminated Bible
Open on the table is an extraordinarily rich illuminated manuscript. Scholars identify it as the so-called Hamilton Bible, a masterpiece of fourteenth-century Neapolitan illumination made for Queen Joanna I of Anjou by Cristoforo Orimina, now in the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin. According to the Uffizi Galleries, the book is open at the beginning of the Gospel of John. The scholar Francesco Paolo Di Teodoro, noting some differences, has suggested that Leo X owned a copy of that manuscript.
The lens and the bell
In his left hand the pope holds a gold-rimmed lens, almost a personal emblem: Leo X was severely short-sighted. Next to the book stands a finely chased silver bell. Raphael paints the different surfaces with virtuosity: velvet, damask, fur, and metal reflecting the window of the room.
A “guest” at the wedding
According to a hypothesis by the scholar Richard Sherr (1983), accepted by the Uffizi Galleries, the painting was sent to Florence in 1518 for the wedding of the pope’s nephew, Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino, to Madeleine de la Tour d’Auvergne. A letter by Alfonsina Orsini, the groom’s mother, says that the picture was placed at the centre of the table next to the bride and groom: the pope, who could not attend, took part in the celebration through his image. From 1589 the portrait is documented in the Tribuna of the Uffizi.
The restoration
Between 2018 and 2020 the painting was restored by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence and shown in the great exhibition for the 500th anniversary of Raphael’s death at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome. The restoration made clear that the two cardinals are also by the master’s hand, and not later additions as some had suggested.
An anecdote from Vasari
Vasari, a pupil of Andrea del Sarto, tells us that the Florentine master made a copy of the portrait so perfect that it deceived even Giulio Romano, who had worked on the original. Andrea del Sarto’s copy is now in the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples.
3. Raphael’s papal portraits compared
| Element | Julius II (1511) | Leo X (c. 1518) |
|---|---|---|
| Composition | Single, isolated figure | Group portrait with two cardinals |
| Attitude | Withdrawn, thoughtful, eyes lowered | Absorbed in study, interrupted |
| Objects | Della Rovere acorns, rings, handkerchief | Illuminated Bible, lens, bell |
| Colours | Red mozzetta and camauro against a green background | Variations of reds and purples |
| Message | The resolve of a pope in wartime | Learning, patronage and Medici continuity |
4. Italian language workshop (C1-C2)
Glossary
- Camauro: papal cap of red velvet trimmed with fur.
- Mozzetta: a short cape covering the shoulders, worn by senior clergy.
- Codice miniato (illuminated manuscript): a handwritten book decorated with painted illustrations.
- Mecenatismo (patronage): protection and funding of the arts and letters.
- Ritratto di Stato (state portrait): the official portrait of a ruler or political leader.
Grammar: consecutive and concessive clauses
- Consecutive clauses (cause → effect, “so… that”): così… che, tanto… che, tale che, al punto che + indicative. Il ritratto era così vivo che spaventava i fedeli.
- Concessive clauses (“although”): sebbene, benché, nonostante, malgrado + subjunctive. Sebbene fosse anziano, Giulio II guidava personalmente le campagne militari.
- Concessive with the indicative (“even if”): anche se. Anche se era miope, Leone X amava i codici miniati.
Exercise
Join the sentences with the connective in brackets.
- Il velluto è dipinto con grande precisione. Sembra di poterlo toccare. (così… che)
- Leone X era il papa. Si fece ritrarre come uno studioso. (benché)
- La copia di Andrea del Sarto era perfetta. Ingannò Giulio Romano. (tale che)
Answers: 1. Il velluto è dipinto con una precisione così grande che sembra di poterlo toccare. 2. Benché fosse il papa, Leone X si fece ritrarre come uno studioso. 3. La copia di Andrea del Sarto era tale che ingannò Giulio Romano.
Writing task
In 200 Italian words, compare two official portraits of present-day heads of state, using at least two consecutive and two concessive clauses.
Power in a face
In Raphael’s papal portraits power is not only a matter of insignia and robes: you read it in character, in interests, in the people standing beside the pope. Describing these papal portraits in Italian is a good test for more complex sentences. If you would like to do so with a guide, book a private online lesson at my-italian-teacher.ch. The courses are coming soon: the waiting list is open. The A1 grammar course is free on the blog.
Recommended reading and resources
- Loren Partridge, Randolph Starn, A Renaissance Likeness: Art and Culture in Raphael’s Julius II, University of California Press. Search on Amazon
- Marzia Faietti, Matteo Lafranconi (eds.), Raffaello 1520-1483, exhibition catalogue, Scuderie del Quirinale, Skira, 2020. View on Amazon
- Giorgio Vasari, Lives of the Artists (Life of Raphael), annotated edition. View on Amazon
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Sources
- The National Gallery, London, Raphael, Portrait of Pope Julius II (date, beard, bibliography)
- National Gallery room text via Smartify (return on 27 June 1511, green background, Justus of Ghent, influence over two centuries)
- Galleria Borghese, online catalogue, Portrait of Pope Julius II, copy after Raphael (acorns, Gould 1970, Uffizi version)
- Uffizi Galleries, press release “Il Papa dei Medici ritorna a Firenze” (Cristoforo Orimina’s Bible, lens, Gospel of John)
- Uffizi on Google Arts & Culture, Portrait of Pope Leo X with Cardinals Giulio de’ Medici and Luigi de’ Rossi (size, sent to Florence in 1518, Tribuna from 1589)
- ArtTrav, Raphael’s Pope Leo X restored (Sherr’s hypothesis, 1985 identification, Di Teodoro’s hypothesis)
- Fondazione Federico Zeri, University of Bologna, Andrea del Sarto’s copy at Capodimonte
