Page "Raphael" Paragraph 28

These very large and complex compositions have been regarded ever since as among the supreme works of the grand manner of the High Renaissance, and the " classic art " of the post-antique West.

They give a highly idealised depiction of the forms represented, and the compositions, though very carefully conceived in drawings, achieve " sprezzatura ", a term invented by his friend Castiglione, who defined it as " a certain nonchalance which conceals all artistry and makes whatever one says or does seem uncontrived and effortless ...".

According to Michael Levey, " Raphael gives his a superhuman clarity and grace in a universe of Euclidian certainties ".

The painting is nearly all of the highest quality in the first two rooms, but the later compositions in the Stanze, especially those involving dramatic action, are not entirely as successful either in conception or their execution by the workshop.