Raphael was a renowned Italian painter of the High Renaissance period known for his works like "Portrait of a Lady with a Unicorn". He lost both parents at a young age but was apprenticed under Pietro Perugino. In 1504 he moved to Florence to study works by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. "Portrait of a Lady with a Unicorn" from around 1505-1506 depicts a young woman holding a unicorn, with pillars and a landscape in the background. The unicorn symbolized purity at the time, so the painting may have been intended to portray purity as a person. Raphael became very successful before dying at age 37 in 1520

1. “Portrait Of a Lady
with a Unicorn”
B y : R a f f a e l l o S a n z i o d a
U r b i n o
Veronica Manoli Β’2

2. A b o u t T h e A r t i s t :
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino or Raphael for short is a well-known artist of the High Renaissance
period. His father being Giovanni Santi (a highly regarded painter in Urbino) and his mother
Magia Carla Raphael he was born on the 28th of March or the 6th of April 1483.
While growing up Raphael lost both of his parents and was an orphan from the age of eleven.
Even though he had lost both of his parents, before his dad left him he managed to place his
son as an apprentice in the workshop of Pietro Perugino.
In 1504 Raphael decided to move to Florence to get a better knowledge of Florentine art.
Raphael copied figures by Leonardo and Michelangelo since both of them studied the anatomy
of the human body. He had done a lot of paintings while growing up and one of his final
paintings of the Florentine period was Saint Catherine that is located now in the National
Gallery in London.
At the end of his years, Raphael was a famous and wealthy individual. He died at the age of 37
on the 6th of April 1520. He had acquired great success and he was well known amongst other
artists of his timeline

3. About the painting:
“ Young Woman with Unicorn ”
( c. 1505-1506 )
This painting of Raphael portrays a young woman with
a unicorn in her hands. Around her in the background
are two pillars and a beautiful but simplistic green
landscape with a clear blue sky. The woman, in
particular, has blonde hair and blue eyes. She is
wearing an old-fashioned dress that is red and
yellow/gold. The unicorn in her hands is small and
fragile looking. She is holding it with great care and at
the same time, she is looking straight at the artist that is
portraying her. One could say that the look of this
painting resembles the “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo Da
Vinci. Raphael was known to be inspired by his works
of art so the resemblance is understandable. A fun fact
about this painting is about the symbolism of the
unicorn. They say that at that time a unicorn
symbolized “purity”. So perhaps this painting of
Raphael might have been an attempt of portraying
purity as a person.

4. ~Thank you~
THE END