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)
Madonna and Child

School of Raphael

Madonna and Child

Sale Date: December 2, 1995

Auction Closed

Hercules and the Nemean Lion

After Raphael

Hercules and the Nemean Lion

Sale Date: November 27, 1995

Auction Closed

Die Madonna della Sedia

After Raphael

Die Madonna della Sedia

Sale Date: November 22, 1995

Auction Closed

Convito degli dei

Follower of Raphael

Convito degli dei

Sale Date: November 23, 1995

Auction Closed

Martha and Mary Magdalene going to the temple, 1565

After Raphael

Martha and Mary Magdalene going to the temple, 1565

Sale Date: November 16, 1995

Auction Closed

The Madonna and Child with Saint Joseph

After Raphael

The Madonna and Child with Saint Joseph

Sale Date: November 15, 1995

Auction Closed

The Madonna and Child

After Raphael

The Madonna and Child

Sale Date: November 15, 1995

Auction Closed

The Holy Family with St. Elizabeth and the...

After Raphael

The Holy Family with St. Elizabeth and the...

Sale Date: November 15, 1995

Auction Closed

The Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John

After Raphael

The Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John

Sale Date: October 25, 1995

Auction Closed

Madonna di Loreto

After Raphael

Madonna di Loreto

Sale Date: October 25, 1995

Auction Closed

The Sistine Madonna

After Raphael

The Sistine Madonna

Sale Date: October 19, 1995

Auction Closed

St. Paul preaching before the Athenian Areopagus

After Raphael

St. Paul preaching before the Athenian Areopagus

Sale Date: October 19, 1995

Auction Closed

The Madonna della Sedia

After Raphael

The Madonna della Sedia

Sale Date: October 19, 1995

Auction Closed

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

After Raphael

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

Sale Date: October 18, 1995

Auction Closed

Madonna della Seggiola

After Raphael

Madonna della Seggiola

Sale Date: October 17, 1995

Auction Closed

The Madonna and Child with Sts. Joseph,..., 1868

After Raphael

The Madonna and Child with Sts. Joseph,..., 1868

Sale Date: October 6, 1995

Auction Closed

Three views of a classical male head

After Raphael

Three views of a classical male head

Sale Date: September 29, 1995

Auction Closed

The Madonna della Sedia

After Raphael

The Madonna della Sedia

Sale Date: September 13, 1995

Auction Closed

Saint John the Baptist

After Raphael

Saint John the Baptist

Sale Date: September 13, 1995

Auction Closed

The Madonna della Sedia

After Raphael

The Madonna della Sedia

Sale Date: September 12, 1995

Auction Closed

The Madonna of the Goldfinch

After Raphael

The Madonna of the Goldfinch

Sale Date: September 7, 1995

Auction Closed

Madonna del Granduca

After Raphael

Madonna del Granduca

Sale Date: September 7, 1995

Auction Closed

The Sistine Madonna

After Raphael

The Sistine Madonna

Sale Date: September 7, 1995

Auction Closed

The Sistine madonna

After Raphael

The Sistine madonna

Sale Date: September 7, 1995

Auction Closed

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