Raphael and Mozart compared: the new book by Stefano Zuffi

Can the lives and art of Raphael Sanzio (Urbino, 1483 - Rome, 1520) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Salzburg, 1756 - Vienna, 1791) be compared? Yes, according to art historian Stefano Zuffi, who in a kind of re-enactment of Plutarch’s “parallel lives” dedicates his new book to a continuous comparison between Raphael and Mozart: the book is titled Eternal Boys. Raphael and Mozart, Two Lives in the Mirror, published by Damiani editore (208 pages, €16.00, ISBN 9788899438647) and was released on Oct. 8. Zuffi promises to bring readers a “Raphael as you’ve never heard it” and a “Mozart as you’ve never seen it,” starting with a couple of basic questions: what do Raphael and Mozart have in common? And what makes their work so spontaneous and so universal at the same time?

There are indeed many similarities between the two artists, and Zuffi, in a narrative based on a passionate and pressing disclosure like the one to which the Milanese art historian has accustomed his audience, traces them chapter by chapter, beginning with that quest for perfection that always animated the painting of the Urbino and the music of the Austrian: “Raphael and Mozart,” Zuffi writes, “show with full evidence that they never consider their style definitive, continuing in evolution until the last moments of their lives.” And the word “perfection,” Zuffi adds, “recurs frequently in the writings of those who have dealt with them, and we find it far more often than for any other artist, of all times and latitudes.” A “perfection” that makes whatever their talent produces seem natural and spontaneous, despite the fact that their art is the result of a skillful technique honed by constant, lifelong study. A spontaneity that is paralleled with the titanism that united their rivals, Michelangelo and Beethoven: in the book there is also a way to make a comparison with the two top contenders of Raphael and Mozart (more pertinent, however, for Raphael, since the rivalry with Michelangelo was vivid and heartfelt, which was not the case, partly for age reasons, between Mozart and Beethoven, whose lives barely touched each other: the rivalry, in this case, was rather with Antonio Salieri, so much so that the chapter on rivals is devoted precisely to Michelangelo and Salieri).

The cover of Stefano Zuffi’s book

Then there are the backgrounds from which Raphael and Mozart came: Urbino and Salzburg, two centers seemingly far from the capitals of the arts, actually two cultured towns characterized by very fervent cultural circles (just think of Federico da Montefeltro’s Urbino, where artists and intellectuals such as Piero della Francesca, Luca Signorelli, Bramante, Luca Pacioli, Giusto di Gand and many, many others were active). And then, again, the role of their respective parents, Giovanni Santi and Leopold Mozart, who were decisive in directing the talents of their young sons: Santi was one of the most interesting painters in late 15th-century Urbino, and from him little Raphael received his earliest education (to a Raphael little more than a child is attributed the Madonna di Casa Santi, the delicate fresco that adorns a room in his birthplace), while Leopold was a violinist and composer, who spurred his children (not only Wolfgang, but also his sister Maria Anna, known as Nannerl: she was a very talented pianist) to pursue a fruitful career in the world of music.

The similarities that Zuffi, from the first page to the last, brings out are striking: the role of Raphael and Mozart’s mothers, the precocious talent, the love passions that set them on fire in the same way, the desire for freedom, the ability to surround themselves with important intellectual figures. But there were also some aspects that divided them. For example, the relationship with power: Raphael moved with the agility of a courtier between the meshes of Renaissance power, while Mozart was decidedly more intolerant of the rules of power than the painter. Also, the relationship with money: neither of them was particularly attached to money, but while fortune was able to ardent to Raphael throughout his existence (so much so that the Urbinate, although he cannot be considered a very rich artist, was certainly a wealthy man, among the best-paid artists of his time, even able to allocate part of his capital to land investments), the same cannot be said of Mozart, who knew economic well-being only for part of his career, and in his last years had to deal with a financial situation that was anything but happy. The two geniuses are paired even in the extremes of their lives: both died at a young age (at thirty-seven Raphael, at thirty-five Mozart), and both from an illness that in its last stages manifested itself in strong fevers still of uncertain nature today.

With enjoyable writing, Zuffi never fails to delve into Raphael’s paintings or Mozart’s compositions, taking the reader on a journey that evokes some of the highest products that human beings have been able to conceive and realize. Extraordinary masterpieces, perhaps trivialized today (right from the introduction Zuffi reminds us how Raphael’s Madonnas, or even better angels, can now be found reproduced everywhere, and how some of Mozart’s most famous melodies have become cell phone ringtones), but which over the centuries have taken on a universal and timeless dimension. “Raphael and Mozart,” in fact, the author concludes, “rise higher than contingencies and history: they point us to a world in which no reforms or revolutions are necessary, a pacified, serene world, in which everyone, by wisdom or love, will finally be welcomed, consoled, forgiven.”

Left: Raphael Sanzio, Self-Portrait (c. 1504-1506). Right: Barbara Krafft, Posthumous Portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1819)

Raphael and Mozart compared: the new book by Stefano Zuffi

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.