04 RAFFAELLO THE RATIONAL EXTENSION OF BRAMANTE EXPULSION OF HELIODORUS
APOSTOLIC PALACE, 1513 C.E.
“The sources of Raphael’s design too were in recent architectural practice, not in painting, and its proper context in the architectural tradition. It was conceived as viable, free-standing architecture, not in this single projection” – John Shearman in Raphael as Architect Shearman emphasizes the importance of understanding the architectural traditions of the time Raphael was operating within, as well as his use of tectonic design in painting. He argues Raphael’s compositions were largely informed by his architectural interests. For instance, the use of symmetry in Disputa (1509) was unconventional for Renaissance painters during the time. The buildings in his paintings also appeared perfectly configured in plan, section, and elevation. Disputa could offer a glimpse into the proportions and articulation of the dome’s exterior in Expulsion of Heliodorus (perhaps also raising the pilasters of the drum which buttress the centrifugal thrust). A close look at the church of San Bernardino at Urbino will reveal two key relationships. First, the “corner-column in relation to a square space with apsidal or nave extensions”. Second, “a dome over the square space; and a ring contingent with the columns, so as to exclude the transition through arches as at San Bernardino, or any form of pendentive” – an idea also proposed for St. Peters. Talvecchia writes that the role of the Expulsion of Heliodorus was to “impress distinguished visitors with the might of the pope rather than with his erudition”. From this we could infer that the perspectival painting was constructed from
