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)
Die Schule von Athen, 1800–1800

After Raphael

Die Schule von Athen, 1800–1800

Sale Date: September 27, 1997

Auction Closed

Studies of head of a griffin

Raphael

Studies of head of a griffin

Sale Date: July 2, 1997

Auction Closed

The Punishment of Elima

After Raphael

The Punishment of Elima

Sale Date: July 1, 1997

Auction Closed

The Madonna Della Seggiola

After Raphael

The Madonna Della Seggiola

Sale Date: July 1, 1997

Auction Closed

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

Studio of Raphael

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

Sale Date: July 1, 1997

Auction Closed

La Vierge à l'oeillet

After Raphael

La Vierge à l'oeillet

Sale Date: June 23, 1997

Auction Closed

The Madonna della Sedia

After Raphael

The Madonna della Sedia

Sale Date: May 30, 1997

Auction Closed

Madonna and Child

After Raphael

Madonna and Child

Sale Date: May 21, 1997

Auction Closed

Den hellige Cecilie, omgivet af helgener

After Raphael

Den hellige Cecilie, omgivet af helgener

Sale Date: March 4, 1997

Auction Closed

Madonna del velo, 1500–1520

In the manner of Raphael

Madonna del velo, 1500–1520

Sale Date: March 4, 1997

Auction Closed

The Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth

After Raphael

The Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth

Sale Date: February 26, 1997

Auction Closed

Sixthinische Madonna, 1850

After Raphael

Sixthinische Madonna, 1850

Sale Date: February 25, 1997

Auction Closed

The Transfiguration

After Raphael

The Transfiguration

Sale Date: February 19, 1997

Auction Closed

Studies of the Christ Child

Raphael

Studies of the Christ Child

Sale Date: January 29, 1997

Auction Closed

La Vierge à l'Enfant et Saint Jean-Baptiste

Style of Raphael

La Vierge à l'Enfant et Saint Jean-Baptiste

Sale Date: December 20, 1996

Auction Closed

Study for the head and hand of an Apostle

Raphael

Study for the head and hand of an Apostle

Sale Date: December 13, 1996

Auction Closed

The Madonna and Child

After Raphael

The Madonna and Child

Sale Date: December 12, 1996

Auction Closed

The Madonna and Child with the Infant St. John, 1520

After Raphael

The Madonna and Child with the Infant St. John, 1520

Sale Date: December 12, 1996

Auction Closed

Madonna of the Goldfinch

After Raphael

Madonna of the Goldfinch

Sale Date: December 5, 1996

Auction Closed

Maggio, 1893

After Raphael

Maggio, 1893

Sale Date: November 19, 1996

Auction Closed

Virgen de la Silla

Style of Raphael

Virgen de la Silla

Sale Date: October 3, 1996

Auction Closed

La belle jardinere: The Madonna and Child with...

After Raphael

La belle jardinere: The Madonna and Child with...

Sale Date: September 25, 1996

Auction Closed

The Marriage of the Virgin

After Raphael

The Marriage of the Virgin

Sale Date: September 25, 1996

Auction Closed

The Feast of the Gods

After Raphael

The Feast of the Gods

Sale Date: July 8, 1996

Auction Closed

English (US)

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