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Margarita Luti - the muse of the artist Raphael Santi

 

Margarita Luti is the muse of Raphael Santi. Her image is imprinted on many canvases by the artist

Sistine Madonna - one of the most famous images in the history of world painting. A spiritualized maiden with a baby in her arms is an ideal woman who, it would seem, is unattainable. However, the more beautiful the creation, the more interesting it is to learn about its terrestrial prototype. Raphael's muse was Margarita Luti, the daughter of a simple baker, who was not at all angelic in character ...

 

The captivating image of Margarita Luti

Margarita Luti - a simple peasant girl, who could not even dream about the fate that was for her. At the age of 17, she planned to marry a local shepherd Tomaso Chinelli, and it would surely have happened if she had once met Rafael Santi by accident, walking in a park. The artist was looking for a model for the picture "Cupid and Psyche," and one glance at the charming face of Margarita Luti was enough to understand: before him appeared an unearthly beauty.

Margarita Luti won the fame of the most famous courtesan of Rome

On a bold proposal to pose Luti agreed, a little pause. Her father's permission was received for several dozen gold coins, and Margarita herself returned on the first evening from the artist with a luxurious gold necklace. Rafael was ready to present his beloved with expensive gifts, cherish and enjoy her beauty. Margarita turned his head, and she herself plunged into a luxurious life, which could only be dreamed of.

Margarita Luti - the muse of Raphael Santi

Forgotten in luxury and magnificence, the girl suddenly realized how many rich and noble men around her. Some seemed even more attractive to her than Raphael. The artist wrote for the "Cupid and Psyche" picture for the banker Agostino Chigi, and the 17-year-old "Psyche", enjoying a lot of love with Santi, rushed into the arms of Kigi himself. It was he, drugged by her youth, imprisoned in the monastery of Tomaso Cinelli, so that the naive shepherd would not pester the beloved with persecution.

Margarita Luti - the muse of Raphael Santi

Rumor attributed to Margarita another tragic love story: ostensibly, among her admirers was one of the pupils of Raphael, Carlo Tirabacci. For his passion, the young man paid with his life - was stabbed in a duel with his "colleague in the shop." From Raphael, the real reason for the fight was hidden, although it's hard to believe that he did not know about the adventures of his muse. She often did not spend the night at home, and Raphael in impotent rage just wrote her portraits, splashing out all her feelings on the canvas.

 Rafael Santi. Sistine Madonna

Rafael worshiped Marguerite for the rest of his life. It was she who became the prototype of the image of the Sistine Madonna. The daughter of a simple baker, or, as she was called by the maestro, "fornarina," earned her bad reputation as a courtesan. It was rumored that her rampant life ruined Raphael's health and caused his early departure (the artist died at the age of 37 on his birthday). Despite the fact that the artist left her a legacy of a decent condition, Margarita did not change her way of life and continued to turn novels with the rich. When Tomaso came out of the monastery, even tried to hint to him that the feelings are still alive, but the prisoner just threw a handful of earth in her face as a sign of contempt.

Raphael. Madonna della seggiola.
Rafael Santi. "Madonna in the chair."

Margarita Luti was one of those women who were endowed with an attractive appearance, but she hardly understood, next to what genius she had lived.

 

Arshile Gorky art