It is basically a cartoon, with proportions so out of whack that I have doubts about Raphael having painted it, even as a young teen. It’s too corny looking to be the work of a future master, I think. He would have had a natural eye for proportion and realism that would be evident even in stuff he did as a kid.
I almost have to agree with you. . . Except for the nature of the medium. You have to realize that while you are correct about the cartoonish appearance of the Manoppello Veil, it was created on a very fine Cambric cloth most likely spread out on a table while the artist was looking at his own reflection in a small mirror.
The way the head is held and the eyes look lend credence to this theory as the whites of the eyes only appear as seen on the veil when looking up slightly as the head is tilted down toward the table. Look at the eyes. Try it your self.
Painting on a very fine cloth. Think as fine as a silk stocking. It is anything but stiff. Breathe on it and it moves. Have you ever tried it? I have. The cloth moves as you brush any paint on it. It is almost impossible to maintain perspective and proportion as you paint. The cartoonish nature is almost automatic.
Also Yardstick, Rafael is one of those painters who did get better with age. In post number 1, there are two self portraits painted by Rafael. The first when he was in his early twenties, much closer to the age when he may have done the Veil, and the second a couple of years before his death in his mid thirties. The earlier one shows little attention to anatomically correct detail. . . and has a flat aspect. The later painting is far better and much more photographic in nature. . . the sign of a mature journeyman artist who had learned his craft.