Raffaello on Sky arte

Raffaello on Sky arte

The endorsement of a cinema legend and the thrill of the final brushstroke

Commissioned by: Sky Arte (selected by master set designer Francesco Frigeri)

The Context: The call from the legend

Sometimes, master craftsmanship catches the attention of seemingly distant worlds. Following a report on TG1 dedicated to the unique technique of Pictography, the Bottega Tifernate received an unexpected phone call. On the other end of the line was Francesco Frigeri, one of the world’s greatest set designers, the visual mastermind behind masterpieces such as The Legend of 1900 and The Passion of the Christ. During his subsequent visit to the workshop in Città di Castello, Frigeri did not merely look: he inhaled the scent of the wood, felt the roughness of the plaster and studied the grain of the pigments. Recognising the profound soul of that craft, the Maestro introduced the company to Cosetta Lagani, director of art production at Sky, entrusting the Bottega with the creation of all the paintings for the impressive international film Raphael – The Prince of the Arts.

The Challenge: The merciless honesty of the camera

Tackling the reproduction of the works of the “Divine Painter” was already a Herculean task, but cinema imposed an unprecedented pressure: the merciless, mechanical eye of the ultra-high-resolution camera. A cinematic lens is unforgiving and immediately exposes two-dimensional set designs. The works required did not simply have to ‘look’ ancient from a distance, but had to be structurally authentic, vibrant and textured, capable of withstanding the scrutiny of extreme close-ups and complex set lighting.

The Workshop’s Work: Beyond set design, pure materiality

Working tirelessly, the master craftsmen brought to life an entire body of Raphael-inspired works, infusing every panel and canvas with the physical texture of the Renaissance. The Pictography technique was pushed to its limits to replicate not only the aesthetics, but the organic behaviour of the painting under the spotlight, transcending the concept of a ‘prop’ to become a true museum-quality replica lent to the seventh art.

The Outcome: The thrill of history coming to life

The climax of this emotional and professional adventure took place during the filming of a crucial scene, which Stefano Lazzari was invited to witness. Standing before the monumental reproduction of The Transfiguration, masterfully lit, the actor playing Raphael on his deathbed raised his trembling arm to apply the final, laborious brushstroke to the Bottega panel. In that moment of absolute silence on set, cinematic illusion and the reality of the material merged. The crew, the director and Frigeri himself noted with enthusiasm how the camera perfectly captured the roughness of the paint and the sharpness of the brushstrokes. Knowing that Bottega’s brushes helped to tell the world of the final breaths of an absolute genius represents one of the most poetic and prestigious chapters in the company’s history.