Resumen de Raphael as a Historian: Poetry and Historical Accuracy in the Sala di Costantino
Despite Raphael's sudden death at the outset of the project, the decoration of the Sala di Costantino crowns his work in the Vatican Palace. The frescoes were executed by his garzoni, whose claim that they had carried out their master's ideas and been guided by his spirit is here examined and, with some qualifications, supported.
Dominating the large ceremonial hall are four epic scenes purporting to be tapestries so finely woven as to be mistaken for paintings. They celebrate major turning points in the life of Constantine the Great, ranging from his vision of the Cross and defeat of Maxentius to the triumph of the emperor over himself in becoming a Christian and surrendering Rome to the papacy.
Raphael's purpose and methods as a history painter are illuminated through an examination of the visual and literary sources upon which he likely drew. The reader climbs the Arch of Constantine with Raphael, as it were, to follow the artist's reconstruction of the historical events depicted in its reliefs in the light of texts readily available to him, including a source that has not previously been considered in this context. The sala paintings of The Vision of Constantine and The Battle o f the Milvian Bridge in particular reflect Raphael's careful study of the successful military strategy employed as much as they do his concern for the pictorial and poetic effectiveness of his work.
