YEM-K 1968 MiNr0506A pm B002

This bust-length portrait shows a young man with long dark hair, wearing a black beret and a red and black doublet over a white shirt. He is set against a pale sky and a simplified landscape horizon, looking directly at the viewer with a tranquil expression. The image is a 1968 postage stamp issued by the Mutawakelite Kingdom of Yemen to support the UNESCO campaign for Florence.

As a work by Raphael, this portrait reflects the High Renaissance synthesis of naturalism and Neoplatonic idealism. Raphael's oeuvre was deeply influenced by the philosophical climate of Rome and Florence, where the revival of Plato and the concept of 'divine beauty' shaped the visual representation of the human form.