The Royal Academy of Arts has this man’s “La Fornarina” & in the 1800s the RAA’s love of him made some artists retreat to an earlier style

The Royal Academy of Arts’ appreciation for Raphael, particularly his work “La Fornarina,” had a profound influence on the art world during the 1800s. Raphael, an Italian master of the High Renaissance, was celebrated for his perfect compositions, clarity of form, and visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur. His work, including the intimate portrait “La Fornarina,” which showcases a baker’s daughter believed to be his muse and lover, epitomized the ideals of beauty and harmony that were revered by the Academy.

In the 19th century, the Royal Academy of Arts (RAA) in London held Raphael in such high esteem that this admiration prompted a reaction among certain artists who felt constrained by the Academy’s strict adherence to classical and Renaissance traditions. In response, some artists began to look back to styles and themes from before Raphael’s time, seeking inspiration in the more Gothic, medieval, or early Renaissance periods. This movement was partly an attempt to escape the shadow of Raphael’s influence and explore different, often more emotional and naturalistic, artistic expressions. This divergence eventually contributed to the emergence of various artistic movements, such as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which explicitly aimed to reject the Academy’s fixation on Raphael and return to what they considered a more genuine, sincere form of art that existed before his time.