Man of Sorrows

religious

Giovanni Santi enjoyed considerable success both at court and in society and his thriving workshop not only monopolized the market with its production of paintings, but attracted a circle of intellectuals and artists, creating a dominant artistic centre in Urbino toward the end of the fifteenth century.1 It was within these inspiring surroundings that Giovanni's son, Raphael, was to train and flourish.

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About the Artist

Giovanni Santi

1435 – 1494

Italian painter and decorator, father of Raphael. He was a petty merchant for a time, then studied under Piero della Francesca, and seems to have been an assistant and friend of Melozzo da Forli. He is thought to have been influenced by Melozzo; he also expressed admiration for Mantegna. He was court painter to the Duke of Urbino and painted several altarpieces. He was also a poet at the Court of Urbino. His poetry includes an epic in honour of one of his patrons, Federico III da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, followed a discourse on painting. Santi's house in Urbino is now a museum - the Casa di Raffaello. It contains a small fresco of the Virgin and Child that some authorities consider to be Santi's portrayal of Raphael and his mother, and others claim as a very early work by Raphael himself.

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