DAVINCI IN SEOUL SCRIPT (ENG)
INT
What did you know about the Renaissance?
Did you think of it as the "restoration of humanity" after the darkness of the Middle Ages?
No, the Renaissance was a "war of the gods."
My name is Raphael.
I spent my life closely watching the two great masters who began the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.
The art historian Giorgio Vasari calls me the artist who completed the Renaissance.
Now, as the youngest of the Renaissance, I’m going to share with you my vivid stories of that era.
Chapter 1: The Renaissance, The Rise of Two Suns
"Art is a struggle to stop envious time." - Michelangelo
The Renaissance was an era of "rebirth."
Greek mythology, where gods took human form, was revived, and human-centered humanism flourished.
The Renaissance night sky sparkled with countless new stars.
Among them, two particularly brilliant stars shone: Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.
Their emergence was akin to the return of the giants of ancient Greece.
They moved between Florence, Milan, and Rome, heralding the new age in a competitive spirit.
Wherever these two geniuses went, they left behind masterpieces that would live forever.
Da Vinci was an inventive thinker who wrote in reverse, full of curiosity about the world.
He was not only a painter but also a master of sculpture, invention, architecture, anatomy, music, and more.
Michelangelo, on the other hand, was intense, solitary, and passionate, known for powerful sculptures and architecture that conveyed the struggles of life and defiance toward society.
Unlike me, who sought perfect harmony and balance in every work, they were very different from each other.
The two masters eyed each other’s works with caution.
As two suns cannot coexist under the same sky, their rivalry was fierce, like a war.
Their patrons, the Medici family and the Pope, even fought real wars on several occasions.
Like me, neither of them ever married, as if they were wed to their art.
It was from such figures that the Renaissance was born.
Chapter 2: Leonardo and the Mona Lisa
"Da Vinci promised us heaven; Raphael gave it to us." - Picasso
Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452 in the village of Vinci, Tuscany, near Florence, 31 years before I was born.
From a young age, he had a spirit of experimentation.
He even dissected live animals to create terrifying creatures on a shield.
But he would also buy birds at the market just to set them free.
He began painting at 14 and debuted as a painter in Milan at 30.
Leonardo took so much time to complete each piece that his total output is quite limited.
For instance, The Last Supper, which he started painting at 43 in a Milanese monastery, took him three years to complete.
There’s a story that he used the impatient prior as the model for Judas.
At 51, he began work on the Mona Lisa, and it’s famous for the fact that he continued layering paint on it for 16 years, until his death.
Through anatomical studies of optic nerves, facial muscles, and dental structure, he created that mysterious smile.
I myself have seen this painting in person and even sketched the Mona Lisa.
Leonardo spent his life in competition with Michelangelo, who was 23 years younger than him.
When Michelangelo’s David was unveiled, Leonardo admired the vitality and physical beauty of the sculpture,
though he claimed it could not compare to the delicate detail and scientific depth of his own painting.
Leonardo believed Michelangelo’s works, while technically impressive, did not capture the true essence of art.
The Florence council commissioned them to paint murals of the Battle of Anghiari and the Battle of Cascina, respectively.
Leonardo experimented with oil techniques, but when the paint began to melt, it was a blow to his pride.
On one occasion, Leonardo remarked that Michelangelo didn’t even know a work of Dante’s as he passed by.
A devoted fan of Dante, Michelangelo shot back, “Coming from the man who couldn’t even finish a statue in Milan!”
Leonardo was so skilled that he could write with one hand while drawing with the other.
He sought to explore all human senses, integrating art and science to bring the true spirit of the Renaissance to life.
Chapter 3: Michelangelo and David
“A statue made from hard stone carved from the mountain will outlast the person who made it.” – Michelangelo
Michelangelo was born in 1475 in Caprese, near Florence.
His mother passed away when he was six, and he was placed in the home of a stonemason in the countryside.
Even as a child, he found the greatest joy in playing with chisels and hammers.
Although his family wanted him to become a civil servant, his path to becoming an artist was challenging.
He began learning to paint at 13, and by 15, he was living with the Medici family.
At 24, he quickly rose to the ranks of a master with his sculpture, Pietà, in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
This masterpiece portrays the beauty of the Virgin Mary and the sorrow of Jesus’ death with haunting depth.
Michelangelo even inscribed his name on Pietà, the only piece he ever signed.
He did it in a moment of anger after hearing rumors that the work was created by an imitator, secretly adding it at night.
As he left the basilica, awestruck by the beauty of the night, he regretted it, thinking, “God didn’t sign His name on this beautiful world.”
After that, he never signed any of his sculptures.
He criticized painting, saying it “merely deceives the eye, whereas sculpture truly exists.”
In response, Leonardo remarked that “a sculptor is like a baker covered in flour from head to toe.”
In truth, Michelangelo didn’t receive formal training in painting during his youth,
yet he produced the masterpiece The Creation of Adam on the Sistine Chapel ceiling at the Pope’s request.
Working on the ceiling for four years, he painted while lying on his back, paint dripping onto his face.
The Last Judgment, which took him seven years to complete, remains an immortal work.
It’s famous for including the face of a cardinal who opposed nude figures as the gatekeeper of hell.
When Michelangelo completed Moses, he struck the sculpture’s knee with a hammer, exclaiming, “Why don’t you speak?”
This earned him the reputation of being an “eccentric genius” and a “single-minded artist.”
Through the human body, Michelangelo sought to express the touch of the divine.
He believed his sculptures truly symbolized the spirit of the Renaissance.
Though he remained unmarried, he cherished his love for Vittoria Colonna, once saying,
“I merely carve stones, but she is no mere human; she is a work of art from heaven.”
Chapter 4: Raphael and The School of Athens
“Heaven sent Michelangelo to conquer art, but sent Raphael to govern not only art but also manners.” – Giorgio Vasari
I was born in 1483 in Urbino, Italy, eight years after Michelangelo.
As the son of a court painter, I was surrounded by remarkable works from a young age.
But I lost my mother at eight and my father at eleven, so I grew up under my uncle’s care.
In 1504, hearing news of Leonardo and Michelangelo clashing, I headed to Florence.
There, I learned by copying Leonardo’s paintings and drawing inspiration from Michelangelo’s sculptures.
At 25, in 1508, I was commissioned by the Pope to paint what became known as “Raphael’s Rooms” in the Vatican.
In The School of Athens, I portrayed Plato and Heraclitus with the faces of Leonardo and Michelangelo.
I truly respected both of these masters.
I synthesized their painting and sculptural techniques, creating a unique style of my own.
As demand for my work grew, I led a workshop with dozens of assistants,
designing the pieces myself and having my students handle the coloring, though this led to some lower-quality works.
Apparently, Michelangelo, who had by then become my rival, took pleasure in this,
remarking that “Raphael only understood art because he learned from me.”
However, The Room of Heliodorus, with its dramatic contrasts of physical strength and bold colors,
is considered to mark the end of the Renaissance and the start of the Mannerist and Baroque eras.
At 37, I passed away on my birthday, leaving The Transfiguration unfinished.
My final words were, “When does the sun rise?”
Chapter 5: The convergence of Two Masters
“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” – Picasso
During a meeting about where to place Michelangelo’s David,
Leonardo wished it to be placed somewhere less conspicuous.
Michelangelo dismissed painting, while Leonardo dismissed sculpture.
Michelangelo sought to create works that connected gods and humans,
whereas Leonardo aimed for harmony between art and science.
Each considered himself the true embodiment of the Renaissance.
I learned from both masters, yet I took a different path.
I avoided conflict, instead connecting art and science, humanity and divinity.
The roads these two greats traveled finally converged in me.
Thus, the Renaissance, a “war of the gods of art,” came to an end, and a new era began.
“Raphael was, for centuries, the greatest painter—more versatile than Michelangelo and more prolific than Leonardo.” – The National Gallery, London
OUTRO
Over 500 years have passed since the end of the Renaissance.
Leonardo, Michelangelo, and I led the Renaissance together.
If even one of us had been absent, the Renaissance wouldn’t have existed.
The Renaissance wasn’t a restoration of humanity; it was a restoration of divinity.
The heavenly spirit was reborn through the three of us.
Now, I look forward to the Renaissance you will lead.
I hope that through our works, you too will dream the same dream.
“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. You can always go back to the beginning and start again.” — Johnny Cash