Portrait of Leo X (Raphael)  

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The Portrait of Pope Leo X with two Cardinals is a painting by the Italian High Renaissance master Raphael, circa 1518-1519. It is housed in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence.

In contrast to other works depicting graceful Madonnas and figures from classical antiquity, this portrait by Raphael shows the subjects with realism rather than idealism. The Pope is depicted with ample features and apparent near-sightedness. The uneasy tone reflects a period of unrest and turmoil for the papacy; Martin Luther had challenged papal authority, listing among other grievances, Leo X's method of selling indulgences to fund work on St Peter's.

The ball on top of the Pope's chair evokes the symbolic abacus balls of the Medici Family.


Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Portrait of Leo X (Raphael)" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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