Portret van Rafaël 1775 - 1840

This engraving of Raphael was made by Ernst Ludwig Riepenhausen, a German artist, in the late 18th or early 19th century. Riepenhausen was part of a broader European phenomenon of artistic revival, in which earlier periods and styles were revisited. Here, he depicts Raphael, one of the great masters of the Italian High Renaissance, whose work was deeply admired by the Neoclassical artists of Riepenhausen's time. The image itself uses a visual language that references the classical past. With its clean lines and idealized features, it presents Raphael as a figure of timeless genius. We can see this in the serene expression, the carefully draped clothing, and the overall sense of harmony and balance. Art historians would look at the engraving techniques employed by Riepenhausen and compare them with those used by his contemporaries. By looking at his other works, his relationship to institutions, and the social and political context of his time, we can begin to understand the meaning of this image as part of a broader cultural project.