Creator story
Surprising fact
Raphael died on his 37th birthday, reportedly after a fever; all Rome mourned, and he was buried with honours in the Pantheon.
Source: Wikipedia / WikimediaRenaissance
Raphael
Raphael (1483–1520) was the youngest of the three giants of the High Renaissance, prized for serene harmony, perfect composition and grace. His School of Athens is the visual summit of Renaissance humanism.
For four centuries Raphael was the model of academic perfection; his Madonnas defined the very idea of ideal beauty.
- Painted the Vatican Stanze, including the School of Athens, for Pope Julius II.
- His tender Madonnas became the Western template for ideal, gentle beauty.
- Ran one of the largest, most efficient workshops of the Renaissance before dying at just 37.
Key works
Two works that open the world of Raphael
These works make it easiest to see how the artist changed form, content, and the very way art could exist in culture.
1504
The Marriage of the Virgin
The Marriage of the Virgin reads as one of the anchor works of renaissance, where Raphael's visual voice becomes unmistakable.
1512
The School of Athens
The School of Athens is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It was painted between 1509 and 1511 as part of a commission by Pope Julius II to decorate the rooms now called the Stanze di Raffaello in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City.