The Separation of Land and Water 1519

Raphael painted ‘The Separation of Land and Water’ as a fresco on the ceiling of the Vatican Palace sometime in the early 16th century. This image is one of a series that depicts God's creation of the world, as told in the book of Genesis. Here, God is the ultimate artist; Raphael's painting celebrates this divine act of creation. During the Renaissance, the Vatican was at the center of artistic patronage. Popes like Julius II and Leo X commissioned art on a massive scale to promote the Church's power and prestige. Artists like Raphael, therefore, were heavily reliant on the Church, and the themes in their works would have been influenced by religious doctrine. This fresco makes use of classical artistic techniques to create an illusionistic effect. It is a powerful statement about the Church's vision of its place in the cosmos. For those of us in the present day, a study of the archives and documents of the Vatican and Renaissance Italy help us to understand the institutional context that shaped this painting's creation.