Raphael learned a number of techniques while he was studying in Florence. From masters Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Fra Bartolomeo, he absorbed the Florentine manner of arranging composition, or building depth through pyramidal arrangements of body figures. There is a unity to the grouping of the figures, while the individuals still retain their distinctness. Inessentials are kept subordinate to the overall composition.
From da Vinci, Raphael learned a number of stylistic lighting techniques, which he employed to create the sweet cherubic figures for which he is famed. Chiaroscuro, or the contrast between dark and light, as well as sfumato, or the use of delicate shading rather than line to express form and features, are some of the techniques Raphael used in his depiction of the Cowper Madonna which is said to be similar to da Vinci's own portrayals of the Madonna, notably his "Madonna and Child with St. Anne."
As the basis of his frescos, or mural paintings, Raphael started with cartoons, or full-sized preliminary sketches that served to transfer a design onto the painting. The fresco itself was made by applying limeproof pigments to lime plaster while still wet. Raphael also made cartoons for the tapestries that were to be placed in the Sistine Chapel in 1515 for Pope Leo X. These were painted-out renditions that were to act as guidelines for the weavers; however the cartoons themselves came to be considered works of art unto themselves and are presently displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Commissioned to design the Papal suites in Rome in 1508, Raphael went on to design both religious and secular-themed rooms. His most famous room paintings are frescos from the Stanza della Segnatura, the main ones being "Disputa," depicting God and his disciples above an assembly of representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, and "The School of Athens," which display an allegorical vision of philosophers throughout history arrayed in various poses throughout a rich architectural space. The overall effect of the latter fresco is one of peace and equilibrium. Later frescoes employ deeper colors and bold dramatic subjects, set off by unusual lighting. In "The Liberation of St. Peter," Raphael makes use of three kinds of illumination: moonlight, torch light and seraphic light.