Raphael

(Italian, 1483–1520)

Raphael was a seminal Italian painter of the High Renaissance period. Admired for his ability to organize forms and color into clear and graceful compositions, Raphael portrayed scenes with delicate lines and subtle shading, evoking a Platonic ideal of serenity and beauty. In perhaps his best-known work, The Sistine Madonna (1513-1514), the artist conveyed an elaborate scene in which wistful cherubs gaze up at the Virgin Mary, two saints, and her son. Born Raffaello Sanzio on April 6, 1483 in Urbino, Italy, his father was the painter Giovanni Santi who became the young artist’s first instructor. By the age of 17, Raphael was already considered a precocious talent, producing paintings influenced by the work Piero della Francesca. Around the year 1500, he apprenticed with Pietro Perugino, helping the elder artist to produce an important fresco commission in Perugia, an experience that had a profound influence on the young Raphael. Moving to Florence in 1504, he was immersed in the milieu of the one the great epochs of art history, while in the city he studied the works of both Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Called by Pope Julius II to Rome in 1508, Rapahel was hired to complete a cycle of frescoes in the papal apartments inside the Vatican, he would live in the city the next 12 years. The artist died on his 37th birthday on April 6, 1520 in Rome, Italy. According to his biographer Giorgio Vasari, Raphael’s premature death was caused by a fever brought on by excessive lovemaking with his mistress Luti. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Louvre Museum in Paris, the National Gallery in London, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, among others.

Raphael News

Art World

Art Bites: Did Raphael Die From Too Much Sex?

by Richard Whiddington
Art Bites: Did Raphael Die From Too Much Sex?
On View

See How Depictions of Childhood Have Changed Throughout Art History

by Jo Lawson-Tancred
See How Depictions of Childhood Have Changed Throughout Art History
Pop Culture

The Painting Behind the Meme: Raphael's Side-Eyeing Bride

by Verity Babbs
The Painting Behind the Meme: Raphael's Side-Eyeing Bride

Raphael Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Raphael (1,621 results)
The Madonna del Granduca

After Raphael

The Madonna del Granduca

Sale Date: February 22, 1996

Auction Closed

The Bridgewater Madonna

After Raphael

The Bridgewater Madonna

Sale Date: February 22, 1996

Auction Closed

Madonna della Seggiola

After Raphael

Madonna della Seggiola

Sale Date: February 20, 1996

Auction Closed

The School of Athens

After Raphael

The School of Athens

Sale Date: February 7, 1996

Auction Closed

Galatea

After Raphael

Galatea

Sale Date: February 7, 1996

Auction Closed

The Madonna della Sedia

After Raphael

The Madonna della Sedia

Sale Date: February 7, 1996

Auction Closed

The Madonna and Child with the Infant St. John...

After Raphael

The Madonna and Child with the Infant St. John...

Sale Date: February 1, 1996

Auction Closed

Madonna della Sedia

After Raphael

Madonna della Sedia

Sale Date: January 30, 1996

Auction Closed

Madonna of the chair

After Raphael

Madonna of the chair

Sale Date: January 28, 1996

Auction Closed

The Madonna della Sedia

After Raphael

The Madonna della Sedia

Sale Date: January 17, 1996

Auction Closed

Sistine Madonna

After Raphael

Sistine Madonna

Sale Date: January 17, 1996

Auction Closed

The Madonna dell'Impannata

Studio of Raphael

The Madonna dell'Impannata

Sale Date: January 11, 1996

Auction Closed

Portrait d'homme en buste

Follower of Raphael

Portrait d'homme en buste

Sale Date: December 18, 1995

Auction Closed

La rencontre de Saint Léon et d'Attila

After Raphael

La rencontre de Saint Léon et d'Attila

Sale Date: December 18, 1995

Auction Closed

Allegorisk sceneri

After Raphael

Allegorisk sceneri

Sale Date: December 7, 1995

Auction Closed

Portrait of a man in red cap

In the manner of Raphael

Portrait of a man in red cap

Sale Date: December 7, 1995

Auction Closed

The Sistine Madonna

After Raphael

The Sistine Madonna

Sale Date: December 7, 1995

Auction Closed

The Madonna and Child with St. Elizabeth and the

After Raphael

The Madonna and Child with St. Elizabeth and the

Sale Date: December 7, 1995

Auction Closed

The Madonna della Sedia

After Raphael

The Madonna della Sedia

Sale Date: December 7, 1995

Auction Closed

An allegory of Mental Discipline restraining the

Studio of Raphael

An allegory of Mental Discipline restraining the

Sale Date: December 6, 1995

Auction Closed

Design for a frieze with nymphs and sea monsters

Circle of Raphael

Design for a frieze with nymphs and sea monsters

Sale Date: December 6, 1995

Auction Closed

Sainte Famille

Studio of Raphael

Sainte Famille

Sale Date: December 4, 1995

Auction Closed

La belle jardinière

After Raphael

La belle jardinière

Sale Date: December 4, 1995

Auction Closed

A woman with her two children

After Raphael

A woman with her two children

Sale Date: December 3, 1995

Auction Closed

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.