Study of God the Father (recto)

Story

From about 1514 onwards Raphael began to depend heavily on red chalk, a relatively new medium pioneered by Leonardo and in use from the end of the fifteenth century. Raphael used it to carefully work out the areas of light and shadow that help to create the illusion of the deity floating in space above the dome of the Chigi Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo. On the verso of this double sheet, he first studied a shop assistant lying on the floor with arms extended (called a garzone study), while on the recto he found the final version, in which the representation of the Almighty hovers over the viewer in a very striking illusion.