Why the information here are Must knows?
These are information that may not seem important but if you don't know it, you will regret it after your Italy trip (if you are going to one). Changed weekly so act fast!
Usually they are about famous artists.
Usually they are about famous artists.
Information # 1-WHO IS MICHELANGELO?
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer. Along with Leonardo da Vinci, he is often called a "Renaissance man" which means that he had great talent in many areas.
Michelangelo lived an extremely busy life, creating a great number of artworks. Some of Michelangelo's works are among the most famous that have ever been made. They include two very famous marble statues, the Pieta in Saint Peter's Basilicaand David which once stood in a piazza in Florence but is now in the Accademia Gallery. His most famous paintings are huge frescos, the Sistine Chapel Ceiling and the Last Judgement. His most famous work of architecture is the east end anddome of Saint Peter's Basilica.
A lot is known about Michelangelo's life because he left many letters, poems and journals. Because he was so famous, he became the very first artist to have his biography (story of his life) published while he was still living.[2] His biographer,Giorgio Vasari, said that he was the greatest artist of the Renaissance. He was sometimes called Il Divino ("the divine one").[3] Other artists said that he had terribilità, (his works were so grand and full of strong emotion that they were scary). Many other artists who saw his work tried to have the same emotional quality. From this idea of terribilità came a style of art called Mannerism.
IMPORTANT WORKS OF MICHELANGELO
Statue of David
In 1499 Michelangelo returned to Florence. The priest Savonarola had made so many people angry that he had been put to death in 1498. Life in Florence started to return to normal. Many years earlier the Guild of Woolworkers had commissioned some artists to make statues of the heroes of the city. A sculptor called Agostino di Duccio had started carving a huge statue of David, the hero of the Bible story of David and Goliath. For 40 years the Guild of Woolworkers owned the huge block of marble, with the statue hardly begun. In 1501 they commissioned the young Michelangelo to carve it. It took him three years to complete.
Once again Michelangelo made a statue that became world-famous. The statue shows a young man, naked in the way that statues of ancient gods were made, just pausing for a moment and looking with fierce eyes at the huge soldier Goliath that he is about to kill. The statue is 5.17 meter (17 ft) tall. It was placed in the piazza (public square) outside the Palazzo Vecchio where the town council met. After many years, the statue was put into an art gallery, the Accademia. A copy now stands in the piazza. People still struggles to see the statue that he made.
Sistine Chapel ceiling
Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The work took nearly four years to complete (1508–1512)
In 1505 Michelangelo was invited to Rome by the newly elected Pope Julius II. Pope Julius was an old man. He wanted Michelangelo to design a grand tomb. It was to stand inside a church and have many carved figures which were to include several slaves to hold up part of the tomb and Old Testament prophets to sit in niches (openings in the walls). Michelangelo started work. He made a magnificent statue of Moses which is now in the Church of S. Pietro in Vincoli (St Peter in Chains) in Rome. Many people go to look at this statue. The slaves were only partly carved. Four of them are now in the Accademia in Florence. The rest of the great plan was unfinished.
The main reason that Pope Julius' tomb was not finished was that the Pope had an idea for another artwork. The Sistine Chapel near St. Peter's Basilica had its walls painted by some famous artists from Florence. The Pope decided that Michelangelo should paint the ceiling. Michelangelo did not want to. He said that he was not a painter. But the Pope bullied Michelangelo until he agreed to do it. He told the Pope that he would do it "for God" and that he would only do it if the Pope let him paint it "in his own way".
The chapel was long and wide. Its curved ceiling was held up by twelve fan-shaped pieces of wall called "pendentives". Pope Julius told Michelangelo to paint one of the twelve apostles of Jesus on each pendentive. Michelangelo started to do this. Then he got a different idea and scraped off the work that he had done. Instead of apostles he painted twelve prophets. Seven of them were men from the Old Testament but the other five were women and did not come from the Bible. They were five prophets from the Classical world. Like the prophets in the Bible, they had all told people about the birth of Jesus.
On the middle of the ceiling, instead of painting a starry sky, Michelangelo painted scenes from the Bible telling the story of Creation and the downfall of humanity. The most famous scene is the picture of God creating Adam. The ceiling was so famous that many artists tried to copy the way that Michelangelo had arranged and painted the figures.
Buildings and tombs in Florence
In 1513 Pope Julius II died. The next pope was Pope Leo X, a member of the Medici family. He gave Michelangelo several jobs in Florence, including designing a the Medici Chapel to hold the tombs of his family members. Although not all the tombs were built, Michelangelo finished seven large statues including a "Madonna and Child". His pupils later completed completed the chapel. [18]
In 1527, the people of Florence became angry at the Medici for acting like princes. That was not the right way for a family to act, in a city that was a republic. The people threw the Medici out, but the Medici came back with an army and took over the city. Michelangelo was so upset at the behaviour of the Medici that he left his beloved city and never went back.
The Last Judgement
Pope Clement VII called Michelangelo back to the Sistine Chapel to paint the wall behind the altar with a huge scene of The Last Judgement. He worked on it from 1534 to 1541. At the centre it shows Jesus, surrounded by saints, sitting in judgement over the people of the Earth. To the left, people are rising from their graves and many are welcomed into Heaven. To the right, other people are being sent to Hell where they are dragged down by demons. It is a huge painting with many figures in it.
Like Adam and Eve on the ceiling, all the figures were shown naked. Some of the cardinals in the church said that it was wicked to paint saints, including the Virgin Mary, with no clothes on. They called Michelangelo "the painter of rude bits". There was a long argument about this because some people said that God had created everyone naked, so clothes would not be needed in Heaven. After Michelangelo's death another artist, Daniele da Volterra was called in to paint drapes on the figures. For the rest of his life he was known as "the painter of pants"( The underpants painter).
St Peter's Basilica
In 1546, when Michelangelo was his seventies, he was given one of his most important jobs. The old St Peter's Basilica had been partly demolished and a new one designed by Bramante. But many architects had worked on it and it was still just at the beginning stages. Michelangelo was made the architect. He immediately improved the plan, had important parts made much stronger, and designed a huge dome, taller than any other dome in the world. He died before it was completed, but he left drawings and models so that the next architect, Giacomo della Porta, could finish what he had started. The dome of St. Peter's Basilica still stands as one of the greatest monuments of Christianity, and as a symbol of the city of Rome.
When Michelangelo died, his body was taken back to Florence and buried in the Basilica of Santa Croce (Church of the Holy Cross). On his tomb sit three mourning figures who symbolize Architecture, Painting and Sculpture.
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Michelangelo lived an extremely busy life, creating a great number of artworks. Some of Michelangelo's works are among the most famous that have ever been made. They include two very famous marble statues, the Pieta in Saint Peter's Basilicaand David which once stood in a piazza in Florence but is now in the Accademia Gallery. His most famous paintings are huge frescos, the Sistine Chapel Ceiling and the Last Judgement. His most famous work of architecture is the east end anddome of Saint Peter's Basilica.
A lot is known about Michelangelo's life because he left many letters, poems and journals. Because he was so famous, he became the very first artist to have his biography (story of his life) published while he was still living.[2] His biographer,Giorgio Vasari, said that he was the greatest artist of the Renaissance. He was sometimes called Il Divino ("the divine one").[3] Other artists said that he had terribilità, (his works were so grand and full of strong emotion that they were scary). Many other artists who saw his work tried to have the same emotional quality. From this idea of terribilità came a style of art called Mannerism.
IMPORTANT WORKS OF MICHELANGELO
Statue of David
In 1499 Michelangelo returned to Florence. The priest Savonarola had made so many people angry that he had been put to death in 1498. Life in Florence started to return to normal. Many years earlier the Guild of Woolworkers had commissioned some artists to make statues of the heroes of the city. A sculptor called Agostino di Duccio had started carving a huge statue of David, the hero of the Bible story of David and Goliath. For 40 years the Guild of Woolworkers owned the huge block of marble, with the statue hardly begun. In 1501 they commissioned the young Michelangelo to carve it. It took him three years to complete.
Once again Michelangelo made a statue that became world-famous. The statue shows a young man, naked in the way that statues of ancient gods were made, just pausing for a moment and looking with fierce eyes at the huge soldier Goliath that he is about to kill. The statue is 5.17 meter (17 ft) tall. It was placed in the piazza (public square) outside the Palazzo Vecchio where the town council met. After many years, the statue was put into an art gallery, the Accademia. A copy now stands in the piazza. People still struggles to see the statue that he made.
Sistine Chapel ceiling
Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The work took nearly four years to complete (1508–1512)
In 1505 Michelangelo was invited to Rome by the newly elected Pope Julius II. Pope Julius was an old man. He wanted Michelangelo to design a grand tomb. It was to stand inside a church and have many carved figures which were to include several slaves to hold up part of the tomb and Old Testament prophets to sit in niches (openings in the walls). Michelangelo started work. He made a magnificent statue of Moses which is now in the Church of S. Pietro in Vincoli (St Peter in Chains) in Rome. Many people go to look at this statue. The slaves were only partly carved. Four of them are now in the Accademia in Florence. The rest of the great plan was unfinished.
The main reason that Pope Julius' tomb was not finished was that the Pope had an idea for another artwork. The Sistine Chapel near St. Peter's Basilica had its walls painted by some famous artists from Florence. The Pope decided that Michelangelo should paint the ceiling. Michelangelo did not want to. He said that he was not a painter. But the Pope bullied Michelangelo until he agreed to do it. He told the Pope that he would do it "for God" and that he would only do it if the Pope let him paint it "in his own way".
The chapel was long and wide. Its curved ceiling was held up by twelve fan-shaped pieces of wall called "pendentives". Pope Julius told Michelangelo to paint one of the twelve apostles of Jesus on each pendentive. Michelangelo started to do this. Then he got a different idea and scraped off the work that he had done. Instead of apostles he painted twelve prophets. Seven of them were men from the Old Testament but the other five were women and did not come from the Bible. They were five prophets from the Classical world. Like the prophets in the Bible, they had all told people about the birth of Jesus.
On the middle of the ceiling, instead of painting a starry sky, Michelangelo painted scenes from the Bible telling the story of Creation and the downfall of humanity. The most famous scene is the picture of God creating Adam. The ceiling was so famous that many artists tried to copy the way that Michelangelo had arranged and painted the figures.
Buildings and tombs in Florence
In 1513 Pope Julius II died. The next pope was Pope Leo X, a member of the Medici family. He gave Michelangelo several jobs in Florence, including designing a the Medici Chapel to hold the tombs of his family members. Although not all the tombs were built, Michelangelo finished seven large statues including a "Madonna and Child". His pupils later completed completed the chapel. [18]
In 1527, the people of Florence became angry at the Medici for acting like princes. That was not the right way for a family to act, in a city that was a republic. The people threw the Medici out, but the Medici came back with an army and took over the city. Michelangelo was so upset at the behaviour of the Medici that he left his beloved city and never went back.
The Last Judgement
Pope Clement VII called Michelangelo back to the Sistine Chapel to paint the wall behind the altar with a huge scene of The Last Judgement. He worked on it from 1534 to 1541. At the centre it shows Jesus, surrounded by saints, sitting in judgement over the people of the Earth. To the left, people are rising from their graves and many are welcomed into Heaven. To the right, other people are being sent to Hell where they are dragged down by demons. It is a huge painting with many figures in it.
Like Adam and Eve on the ceiling, all the figures were shown naked. Some of the cardinals in the church said that it was wicked to paint saints, including the Virgin Mary, with no clothes on. They called Michelangelo "the painter of rude bits". There was a long argument about this because some people said that God had created everyone naked, so clothes would not be needed in Heaven. After Michelangelo's death another artist, Daniele da Volterra was called in to paint drapes on the figures. For the rest of his life he was known as "the painter of pants"( The underpants painter).
St Peter's Basilica
In 1546, when Michelangelo was his seventies, he was given one of his most important jobs. The old St Peter's Basilica had been partly demolished and a new one designed by Bramante. But many architects had worked on it and it was still just at the beginning stages. Michelangelo was made the architect. He immediately improved the plan, had important parts made much stronger, and designed a huge dome, taller than any other dome in the world. He died before it was completed, but he left drawings and models so that the next architect, Giacomo della Porta, could finish what he had started. The dome of St. Peter's Basilica still stands as one of the greatest monuments of Christianity, and as a symbol of the city of Rome.
When Michelangelo died, his body was taken back to Florence and buried in the Basilica of Santa Croce (Church of the Holy Cross). On his tomb sit three mourning figures who symbolize Architecture, Painting and Sculpture.
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Information #2: Who is Raphael?
Raffaello Sanzio, usually known as Raphael (April 6, 1483 - April 6, 1520) was a Renaissance painter and architect. With Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, he is one of the greatest painters of the High Renaissance.
He is best known for his paintings of the Madonna and Christ Child and for his paintings in the Vatican in Rome, Italy.
Perugia
Raphael was born in Urbino, in the region of Umbria, Italy. He was the son of Giovanni Santi (d. 1494), who was also a painter, and Magia di Battista Ciarla (d. 1491). Giovanni Santi was Raphael's first teacher, but he died when Raphael was only eleven.
While about 15, Raphael became an apprentice at the workshop of the painter Pietro Perugino, called by that name because he was the most famous painter in the town of Perugia. Perugino was famous, not only in Umbria, but also in Rome and inFlorence, the home of Leonardo and Michelangelo. He had been one of the artists given the important job of painting the Pope's large chapel in the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel.
Perugino was known to have expert ways of painting (technique), and was good at getting paintings finished on time which made him popular with his patrons. He painted some portraits, but most of his pictures are religious. Some of his paintings are small pictures of the Madonna and Child that could be used in a family chapel for private worship. But because he was famous, Perugino also got lots of work from wealthy patrons and from churches, so he painted many very large pieces to go above the altar in church. To do this, he needed the help of his apprentices.
Raphael was able to learn a great deal from Perugino - drawing, the anatomy of the human figure, paint chemistry and the technique of putting the paint onto the picture in smooth layers. The figures in Perugino's paintings often have very sweet gentle faces. Many of Raphael's paintings are also sweet and gentle. Some painters, such as Leonardo, were quick to change their style and make their paintings show their own touch. But Raphael continued to paint in the style that Perugino taught him. He added to this new ideas that he learnt by looking at the work of other artists. Unlike Leonardo and Michelangelo, Raphael did not give the world anything new in the Art of Painting. He is famous simply because he was so expert at what he did, and because people loved his paintings so much.
First WorksThe painting that is thought to be his earliest known work is a small picture called The Vision of a Knight. In this painting a knight lies asleep. In his dream there are two beautiful women. One woman, dressed in soft flowing clothes, offers him flowers. The other woman, dressed in dark clothing, offers the knight a sword and a book. The path behind the pretty woman runs beside a river. The other path leads up a steep mountain. Raphael was thinking about choices. Should the knight take the easy road, or should he try to change things?
Other early pictures by Raphael are Three Graces, and Saint Michael.
Raphael's first major work was The Marriage of the Virgin which was painted in 1504. It was influenced by Perugino's painting for the Sistine Chapel of Jesus giving the Keys to Saint Peter. It is now in the Brera Gallery in Milan, Italy.
Florence
In about 1504 Raphael went with another painter, Pinturicchio, to Florence, Italy. Florence was famous for its artworks, its artist's workshops, its new Renaissance buildings and its huge cathedral. Raphael wanted to see the work of Michelangelo,Leonardo da Vinci and other important painters and sculptors.
The Madonnas
Florence had a very strong tradition of making images of the Madonna and Child because the city was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. On almost every street corner there was a painting or a brightly-coloured statue of the Madonna and Child.[1]
While he was in Florence, Raphael painted many of his famous Madonna paintings. The most famous of these paintings are:
While he was in Rome he was commissioned (given a job), to paint a fresco of the Prophet Isaiah in the Church of Sant'Agostino. While he was working on the painting, he went to visit his friend, thearchitect, Donato Bramante. Bramante was at the Vatican while Michelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Of course Raphael wanted to see what the famous master was doing. While Michelangelo was away, Bramante took Raphael into the Chapel. When Raphael saw the way that Michelangelo had painted the prophets, he was so excited that he went back to Sant'Agostino's Church, scraped his painting off the wall and started all over again. It is easy to see that Raphael's painting is in the style of Michelangelo. Raphael was not ashamed of this. He did it to give honour to the great master.[2]
[change]The Stanze
Detail from The School of Athens.
Among Raphael's most famous paintings are the frescos that are painted on the walls of Julius II's own rooms in the Vatican Palace, known as the Stanze. The paintings in the Stanza della Segnatura and theStanza d'Eliodoro were created by Raphael himself, whilst the Stanza dell'Incendio was designed by Raphael and painted by his assistants.
One of the frescoes in the Stanza della Segnatura is of the greatest importance. This painting is called The School of Athens. It shows a group of learned people from Ancient Greece, philosophers, poets,dramatists, mathematicians and others. They are listening to the central figure, who is the philosopher, Plato. The painting is meant to show that at that time, the early 1500s, there was a new birth of ideas and learning among the people of Rome that was equal to the learning of Ancient Athens.
To make this message clear, Raphael used the faces of the people that he knew. Michelangelo, with his broken nose, is sitting with his chin on his hand. The tall figure of Plato with long hair and flowing beard is a portrait of Leonardo da Vinci.
One of the excellent things about this painting is the way that Raphael has painted the building in which the figures are standing. The architecture looks as if it is opening up from the real room.
Architecture:In the 1500s, painters were often asked to design architecture. Raphael's first work as an architect was the funeral chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo. Pope Leo X also chose Raphael to help design Saint Peter's Basilica alongside Donato Bramante. After Bramante died, Raphael took over the designing of the basilica and changed its groundplan from a Greek Cross to a Latin Cross. Michelangelowent back to Bramante's plan but made it simpler. Then another architect, Maderna, made the building longer, as Raphael had planned.
The Transfiguration:Raphael's last work of art was a painting of the Transfiguration. This was an altarpiece, but Raphael died before he could complete it. It was instead finished by Giulio Romano, who was one of Raphael's assistants.
Death:Raphael died on his 37th birthday and was buried in the Pantheon in Rome. His funeral mass was celebrated at the Vatican and his Transfiguration altarpiece was put at the head of Raphael's funeral carriage.
He is best known for his paintings of the Madonna and Christ Child and for his paintings in the Vatican in Rome, Italy.
Perugia
Raphael was born in Urbino, in the region of Umbria, Italy. He was the son of Giovanni Santi (d. 1494), who was also a painter, and Magia di Battista Ciarla (d. 1491). Giovanni Santi was Raphael's first teacher, but he died when Raphael was only eleven.
While about 15, Raphael became an apprentice at the workshop of the painter Pietro Perugino, called by that name because he was the most famous painter in the town of Perugia. Perugino was famous, not only in Umbria, but also in Rome and inFlorence, the home of Leonardo and Michelangelo. He had been one of the artists given the important job of painting the Pope's large chapel in the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel.
Perugino was known to have expert ways of painting (technique), and was good at getting paintings finished on time which made him popular with his patrons. He painted some portraits, but most of his pictures are religious. Some of his paintings are small pictures of the Madonna and Child that could be used in a family chapel for private worship. But because he was famous, Perugino also got lots of work from wealthy patrons and from churches, so he painted many very large pieces to go above the altar in church. To do this, he needed the help of his apprentices.
Raphael was able to learn a great deal from Perugino - drawing, the anatomy of the human figure, paint chemistry and the technique of putting the paint onto the picture in smooth layers. The figures in Perugino's paintings often have very sweet gentle faces. Many of Raphael's paintings are also sweet and gentle. Some painters, such as Leonardo, were quick to change their style and make their paintings show their own touch. But Raphael continued to paint in the style that Perugino taught him. He added to this new ideas that he learnt by looking at the work of other artists. Unlike Leonardo and Michelangelo, Raphael did not give the world anything new in the Art of Painting. He is famous simply because he was so expert at what he did, and because people loved his paintings so much.
First WorksThe painting that is thought to be his earliest known work is a small picture called The Vision of a Knight. In this painting a knight lies asleep. In his dream there are two beautiful women. One woman, dressed in soft flowing clothes, offers him flowers. The other woman, dressed in dark clothing, offers the knight a sword and a book. The path behind the pretty woman runs beside a river. The other path leads up a steep mountain. Raphael was thinking about choices. Should the knight take the easy road, or should he try to change things?
Other early pictures by Raphael are Three Graces, and Saint Michael.
Raphael's first major work was The Marriage of the Virgin which was painted in 1504. It was influenced by Perugino's painting for the Sistine Chapel of Jesus giving the Keys to Saint Peter. It is now in the Brera Gallery in Milan, Italy.
Florence
In about 1504 Raphael went with another painter, Pinturicchio, to Florence, Italy. Florence was famous for its artworks, its artist's workshops, its new Renaissance buildings and its huge cathedral. Raphael wanted to see the work of Michelangelo,Leonardo da Vinci and other important painters and sculptors.
The Madonnas
Florence had a very strong tradition of making images of the Madonna and Child because the city was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. On almost every street corner there was a painting or a brightly-coloured statue of the Madonna and Child.[1]
While he was in Florence, Raphael painted many of his famous Madonna paintings. The most famous of these paintings are:
- The Madonna of the Goldfinch (c. 1505), which is now in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
- the Madonna del Prato (c. 1505), which is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, in Vienna, Austria.
- the Esterházy Madonna (c. 1505 – 07, which is in Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary.
- La Belle Jardinière (The Madonna of the Beautiful Garden) (c. 1507), which is in the Louvre Museum, in Paris, France.
While he was in Rome he was commissioned (given a job), to paint a fresco of the Prophet Isaiah in the Church of Sant'Agostino. While he was working on the painting, he went to visit his friend, thearchitect, Donato Bramante. Bramante was at the Vatican while Michelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Of course Raphael wanted to see what the famous master was doing. While Michelangelo was away, Bramante took Raphael into the Chapel. When Raphael saw the way that Michelangelo had painted the prophets, he was so excited that he went back to Sant'Agostino's Church, scraped his painting off the wall and started all over again. It is easy to see that Raphael's painting is in the style of Michelangelo. Raphael was not ashamed of this. He did it to give honour to the great master.[2]
[change]The Stanze
Detail from The School of Athens.
Among Raphael's most famous paintings are the frescos that are painted on the walls of Julius II's own rooms in the Vatican Palace, known as the Stanze. The paintings in the Stanza della Segnatura and theStanza d'Eliodoro were created by Raphael himself, whilst the Stanza dell'Incendio was designed by Raphael and painted by his assistants.
One of the frescoes in the Stanza della Segnatura is of the greatest importance. This painting is called The School of Athens. It shows a group of learned people from Ancient Greece, philosophers, poets,dramatists, mathematicians and others. They are listening to the central figure, who is the philosopher, Plato. The painting is meant to show that at that time, the early 1500s, there was a new birth of ideas and learning among the people of Rome that was equal to the learning of Ancient Athens.
To make this message clear, Raphael used the faces of the people that he knew. Michelangelo, with his broken nose, is sitting with his chin on his hand. The tall figure of Plato with long hair and flowing beard is a portrait of Leonardo da Vinci.
One of the excellent things about this painting is the way that Raphael has painted the building in which the figures are standing. The architecture looks as if it is opening up from the real room.
Architecture:In the 1500s, painters were often asked to design architecture. Raphael's first work as an architect was the funeral chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo. Pope Leo X also chose Raphael to help design Saint Peter's Basilica alongside Donato Bramante. After Bramante died, Raphael took over the designing of the basilica and changed its groundplan from a Greek Cross to a Latin Cross. Michelangelowent back to Bramante's plan but made it simpler. Then another architect, Maderna, made the building longer, as Raphael had planned.
The Transfiguration:Raphael's last work of art was a painting of the Transfiguration. This was an altarpiece, but Raphael died before he could complete it. It was instead finished by Giulio Romano, who was one of Raphael's assistants.
Death:Raphael died on his 37th birthday and was buried in the Pantheon in Rome. His funeral mass was celebrated at the Vatican and his Transfiguration altarpiece was put at the head of Raphael's funeral carriage.