The Renaissance was a key element in Western art and marked the point where things began to move on from the Middle Ages towards all that we experience today with the many contemporary art movements. Quite simply, without the Renaissance, things could have turned out very differently and it was crucial in developing ideas towards all that we have today, with one art movement inspiring another over many centuries since the Renaissance came to an end.
Raphael is generally seen as an artist who lacked quite the same ability as previous masters but was still able enough to earn a high level of respect for his work which followed closely in the footsteps of what had gone before with the likes of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. There are now the Raphael Rooms available in a museum in Rome which contains some of the artist's most significant works and is well worth a visit.
An interesting recent development were the Pre-Raphaelites who were an art movement based mainly in the UK but were opposed to the work of Raphael who they felt was far to traditional in his outlook and they preferred imaginative art which tried to bring in new ideas and techniques to add to what had gone before.
Raphael reproductions have become popular despite the traditional style of his work, which many art fans still appreciating the original work from the Renaissance despite the rise of contemporary art movements. The most common copies are made as art prints, often framed, and these are available at pretty cheap prices online with Raphael's career well represented which underlines his continued popularity.
For further Raphael paintings please try here. You will find a huge gallery of his best work here and it is a great way to quickly browse the key moments of his career without trawling through endless pages of other websites that may not be organised as well. There are many different resources online where you can find more of Raphael's work but this is probably the best and also includes more information on the life and career of the painter as well.
