Following Renaissance models; Italy, early 19th century."Portrait of Rafael Sanzio".Oil on canvas.Measures: 78 x 58 cm.Male portrait depicting the painter Raphael de Sanzio, following the models established by Baldassare Castiglione in his portrait of Raphael of 1514-1515, in which he presented a mature artist, bearded and with a dress similar to the one that can be seen in this composition, although it is true that the one here is much more sober. This scene is very reminiscent of a self-portrait by Rubens, belonging to the Royal Collection, in which the artist uses a composition similar, if not identical, to the one seen in this work. The two characters have similar clothes, very popular at the time, since black denoted a certain social position as it was a color whose fashion was imposed by the Spanish court, which owned territories in Flanders. In both portraits the background differs, which Rubens places in an exterior populated with clouds, while in this case it is a scene that develops in an interior of dark tones, inherited from paintings such as those of Rembrandt, which as here makes the portrayed the protagonist of the scene, without introducing any distorting element, which distances the viewer from the main subject.Raphael of Sanzio (Urbino, 1483 - Rome, 1520), was and is one of the most respected and recognized painters in the history of art. Noted for his classicism and the use of a mathematical perspective, he managed to adapt the two dimensions of the canvas to a more realistic conception of the representation of a three-dimensional world. Vasari tells in his famous lives, that Raphael eventually had a workshop of fifty pupils and assistants, many of whom later became important artists in their own right, a characteristic that meant a great recognition of his work, and in turn a strong influence of his artistic conception. Arguably, this was the largest workshop team ever assembled under a single painter. Among them were established masters from other parts of Italy, probably working with their own teams.