I significati musicali nella Santa Cecilia di Raffaello

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2010 in the subject Art - History of Art, University of Bologna, language: Italian, abstract: Since Vasari’s times, across the various periods of the modern and contemporary history, the Ecstasy of St. Cecilia by Raphael has been studied, sometimes deeply loved and some others firmly subjected to rough criticism and strong blame. Many critics over the time have committed themselves to study it from different points of view: not only the historians but also musicologists, musicians, and philosophers. Today, what kind of critical tone can we propose in the light of what has been studied in so many years and of the heterogeneity of the interpretations of this Raphael’s masterpiece? Are we able to overcome every interpretative ambiguity in it? This analysis moves from the present criticism, the 20th century’s one, but does not omit the historical criticism that, far from being considered merely outdated, is regarded in relations to its times. This work aims to reorganize the eminent critical comments trying to reconcile them to a common denominator, that is the musical significances, implicit or explicit, which permeate the art work and which have symbolized its fortune.