Page 30 - Arts Management Magazine Future Issue

Battalions of angels in brilliant peacock blue, symbolizing the purity of the ranks of Heaven, advance toward
the bottom edge of the painting. They hold the line against the damned souls, reinforcing it with their imposing
javelins. Flaming orange and red consume the lower edge of the canvas, flickering against the nude bodies of
those who have been consigned to hell. The reddish raw silk of the canvas shows through not only at the edges
but throughout the image, unifying the intricate composition with an intensity that highlights the luminous,
serene figure of Christ at the center of all.

When viewing Raphael and Omiros side by side, the similarities are more striking than the differences. Rapha-
el strove for perfection; he would never have revealed his hand at work by leaving a brushstroke visible. Omiros
on the other hand, wants us to experience the action right along with him. He who could draw with the best
of the old Masters, mostly chose to set aside natural observation for an augmented pictorial vision. So, while
Raphael and Omiros seem so different and even diametrically opposed in sensibility, each artist was ground-
breaking and breathtaking in his own right.

Last Judgment, detail.

30 Arts Management Magazine I www.ArtsManagementMagazine.com