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Vanessa Anthony

Maureen Vissat

SAR 105 01

18 November 2019

Galatea: Triumph of Love and Beauty

Young and beloved, master painter Raphael brought Humanist joy and beauty to Italy in

the 16th century. His style “embodied the ideals of High Renaissance art” through its celebration

of Greco-Roman imagery, its use of perspective, and its exploration of human anatomy and

grandeur (Kleiner 624, 632). One of his pieces, ​Galatea​, commissioned by a wealthy banker for

a private villa, utilizes and transcends these values in its depiction of a Greek myth. The piece,

completed ca. 1513, is a 9’8” by 7’5” fresco on a vertical rectangular panel of the Sala di Galatea

in the Villa Farnesina in Rome (632). My initial reaction to ​Galatea​ was to be captivated by the

grace and strength of Galatea’s figure and the rich color palette of the figures surrounding her. It

also surprised me that a female and mostly nude protagonist was depicted as one would imagine

a hero from Antiquity. Knowing that the majority of females in art from this period were painted

with a passive, saintly demeanor, I chose to explore ​Galatea​ and the choices Raphael made in

her creation.

Derived from poetry by Angelo Poliziano, ​Galatea t​ ells the story of the sea nymph,

Galatea, fleeing assault by her so-called lover, the cyclops Polyphemus (Kleiner 632). Riding a

shell chariot drawn by dolphins, her escape route cuts through a ​thiasus​, a festival of the gods

often portrayed as a celebration of erotic impulses, comprised of nymphs, sea-satyrs, and other

mythological creatures (See Figure 1) (Dudley 36). Galatea is the central figure of the piece and

partially clothed in a red drape, surrounded on her left and right by the nude creatures, who are
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grappling with each other. Three foreshortened putti hover above her with their bows drawn and

aimed towards her and/or the figures to her sides (“Raphael, ​Galatea​”). Because she is fleeing

the island of Polyphemus, the entire scene takes place on the surface of the sea, creating a blue

background where the sky and ocean meet.

While this story could have portrayed the terror that Galatea was likely experiencing as

she fled, or the dark, ominous presence of Polyphemus in pursuit of her, Raphael did not choose

to illustrate those aspects of the myth. Instead, he paints Galatea in a moment of triumph,

representing an “exultant song in praise of human beauty and zestful love” (Kleiner 632). This is

supported by a few unusual interpretations that he includes in the fresco. The first is the octopus

being eaten by one of Galatea’s dolphins in the lower right corner (See Figure 2). This detail is

unusual, because it does not exist either in Poliziano’s poetry or in the natural world, as dolphins

do not normally seek octopi as their prey (Kinkead 314). Art historian Duncan Kinkead connects

this odd subject matter to the ​Halieutica​ of Oppian, which was a poetic natural history of marine

life dating to the third-century AD (315). According to Oppian, the octopus is a bestial, deadly

mate, while the dolphin mates “after the manner of men,” and thus represents higher morality.

Considering this connection between ​Galatea​ and Oppian, it can be suggested that the dolphin

killing the octopus symbolically reflects the fresco’s theme of Love destroying Lust and its

violent advances.

Another interesting choice in subject matter is the putto in the upper right corner (See

Figure 3), who gazes at his fellow putti with a look of melancholy or disgrace. While at first

glance this putto seems like an expected component of the scene, further inspection reveals that

he is missing his bow. Without his bow, he obviously cannot fire his arrows, which leaves him

“disarmed” and “powerless to effect the love he represents,” contributing to Galatea’s triumph
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over Polyphemus’ attack (Kinkead 315). This, the symbol of the octopus, and Polyphemus’

glaring absence in the scene, together communicate the meaning of the work, which is that

Galatea, symbolizing genuine Love, triumphs over Polyphemus, or the destruction of Lust. It is

through these pelicular alterations that Raphael tells this story in a unique and powerful way.

Stylistically, ​Galatea​ is a radiant example of Raphael’s appreciation for beauty and his

Humanist, High Renaissance approach to art. The figures are well-proportioned and exhibit

chiaroscuro, the use of light and shadow, to “accentuate the musculature of the body” (“Raphael,

Galatea”​ ). They are painted in rich earth tones that intensify the theme of earthly pleasure,

illuminated by a natural light source that bathes Galatea’s upturned face and lifted gaze (See

Figure 4), distinguishing her as the only figure “not actively participating in the sensual agitation

she arouses” (Dudley 36). Her flowing, scarlet drapery makes her the only partially clothed

figure and resembles that of a hero or warrior. Not only is she separate in her lack of engagement

with the ​thiasus,​ but she is also set apart compositionally. Framed by three groups of figures (the

nymphs to her right, the putto near her feet, and the nymphs to her left), she is the “energetic

center” or peak of a spiraling pyramid that moves upwards towards her face, resulting in

dynamic movement but also balance and stability (Kleiner 362; “Raphael, ​Galatea”​ ). This

composition positions the viewer amidst the ​thiasus​ and outside of Galatea’s path, while also at

her eye level. Such a viewpoint establishes the viewer as a witness to Galatea’s triumph rather

than a participant, elevating her in power and significance. Creating a sense of tranquility, the

water of the sea is calm, the negative space between the figures flows rhythmically, and the

textures of the scene (i.e. her silk drape, the figures’ skin, the clear sky) are smooth and fluid.

Contextually speaking, ​Galatea​ is a magnificent example of High Renaissance art both in

iconography and style. The Greek myth it illustrates corresponds with iconography typical of the
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time period, which was that of classical culture (Kleiner 624). Also emblematic of High

Renaissance work is the anatomy of the figures, an interest Raphael shared with Leonardo da

Vinci and Michelangelo and a tenant of the Humanist tradition. His concept of physicality,

however, was “personal and highly sophisticated” (Laurenza, 17). His figures make use of

weights and counterweights to create corporal motion, contributing to the “harmonic figure

composition” that became a defining feature of his work (18). Such knowledge and skills are

emphasized in the torsion of several figures in ​Galatea,​ best observed in Galatea herself and in

the back muscles of the male creature in the lower left corner (See Figure 4, 5). The stable,

balanced pyramidal composition of ​Galatea ​also corresponds to High Renaissance art (“Raphael,

Galatea”​ ). Finally, ​Galatea​ aligns with the Humanist ideology of the time period that sought to

exalt man and his faculties. The sheer beauty and power possessed by humanity in Raphael’s

work suggests that “perfection can be found here on earth as well as in heaven” so that there is

no distinction between the two (Grinnell, 197-198). All of these elements make Raphael and his

Galatea​ iconic of the High Renaissance period.

There is one innovative way in which ​Galatea​ is atypical for its time, however, and that

is Galatea herself. Whereas antique antecedents of a ​thiasus​ scene would be completely

celebratory of erotic impulses, Raphael’s Galatea triumphantly cuts through the “surrounding

spectacle of heterogenic sensuality,” avoiding any participation (Dudley, 36). This contrast is a

visual and thematic rejection of traditional Renaissance scenes, marking a liberation and

maturation of Raphael’s style (36-37). Galatea does not exhibit the restraint or “Renaissance

cool” affected by the characters in his earlier works, like ​School of Athens​, and can therefore be

considered a sort of aesthetic escape for the artist. She is thus historically atypical in her
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transcendent presence and behavior, a characteristic that captivated me when I first saw this

painting.

The way Raphael depicted Galatea and her triumphant escape raises questions that I am

not equipped to answer. When I consider the heroic qualities of her figure, I wonder if Raphael

genuinely admired her when reading Poliziano’s poetry. Did he respect her right to reject

Polyphemus’ violent intentions of rape, a notion that our society still struggles to embrace?

While I see great strength and power in Galatea’s triumph as a woman with agency over her fate,

I am also aware of the disappointing possibility that Raphael viewed her merely as a symbol of

Beauty or Love. Another aspect of ​Galatea​ that disturbs me are the three putti flying above the

scene. If they strike either Galatea or the other female nymphs with their arrows of love, will that

appease the lust of the nymphs’ perpetrators? It is difficult to view the myth of Galatea with a

modernist, feminist perspective and ignore the glaring force of male violence at play. These leads

me to question whether or not Raphael himself condemned such violence in glorifying Galatea’s

triumph, or if he was indifferent to her terrifying circumstances and sought only to paint a

beautiful woman in a moment of glory.

Despite such questions, it is not likely that ​Galatea​ was a contemplative piece for

Raphael; he was commissioned by a wealthy patron to decorate a palace with scenes from

classical mythology (Kleiner, 632). With this as his primary goal, I believe he more than

succeeded. ​Galatea​ is a stunningly beautiful illustration of Greek mythology while also being a

very typical example of popular High Renaissance art, which the patron, Chigi, was undoubtedly

expecting. I also admire how Raphael made innovative choices in this commission that made

Galatea​ decidedly different from other High Renaissance pieces. There is intentionality in the

way Galatea transcends her environment that I think effectively communicates the meaning and
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significance of her triumph. Based on the motivations I can infer Raphael most likely had, I

believe such a culmination of beauty, narrative, and innovation makes his ​Galatea​ a magnificent

success.

Figure 1: (Raphael, Galatea, ca. 1513.)

Figure 2: (Raphael, detail of Galatea, ca. 1513) Figure 3: (Raphael, detail of Galatea, ca. 1513)

Figure 4: (Raphael, detail of Galatea, ca. 1513 Figure 5: (Raphael, detail of Galatea, ca. 1513)
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Works Cited

Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, "Raphael, ​Galatea,​ " in ​Smarthistory​, December 6, 2015,

accessed November 17, 2019, ​https://smarthistory.org/raphael-galatea/​.

Dudley, Edward. "Goddess on the Edge: The Galatea Agenda in Raphael, Garcilaso and

Cervantes." ​Calíope: Journal of the Society for Renaissance and Baroque Hispanic

Poetry​, vol. 1 no. 1, 1995, p. 27-45. ​Project MUSE​ ​muse.jhu.edu/article/672007​.

Grinnell, George J. “Heaven and Earth Reconciled: The Common Vision of Renaissance Art and

Science.” ​Leonardo​, vol. 21, no. 2, 1988, pp. 195–199. ​JSTOR,​

www.jstor.org/stable/1578559.

Kinkead, Duncan T. “An Iconographic Note on Raphael's Galatea.” ​Journal of the Warburg and

Courtauld Institutes​, vol. 33, 1970, pp. 313–315. ​JSTOR,​ ​www.jstor.org/stable/750904​.

Kleiner, Fred S. ​Gardner's Art through the Ages: a Global History​. Fifteenth ed., Cengage

Learning, 2016.

Laurenza, Domenico. “Art and Anatomy in Renaissance Italy: IMAGES FROM A SCIENTIFIC

REVOLUTION.” ​The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin​, vol. 69, no. 3, 2012, pp.

4–48. ​JSTOR​, www.jstor.org/stable/23222879.