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 and Child with St. Elizabeth and the

After Raphael

The Madonna and Child with St. Elizabeth and the

Sale Date: February 23, 1995

Auction Closed

The Transfiguration

After Raphael

The Transfiguration

Sale Date: February 21, 1995

Auction Closed

Portrait du cardinal FarnSse, futur Paul III

After Raphael

Portrait du cardinal FarnSse, futur Paul III

Sale Date: February 17, 1995

Auction Closed

The Vision of Ezekiel

After Raphael

The Vision of Ezekiel

Sale Date: February 15, 1995

Auction Closed

The Madonna della Tenda

After Raphael

The Madonna della Tenda

Sale Date: February 15, 1995

Auction Closed

The Madonna della Sedia

After Raphael

The Madonna della Sedia

Sale Date: February 15, 1995

Auction Closed

Vierge de Saint Sixte

After Raphael

Vierge de Saint Sixte

Sale Date: January 27, 1995

Auction Closed

Holy Family with the Infant St. John and St....

After Raphael

Holy Family with the Infant St. John and St....

Sale Date: January 25, 1995

Auction Closed

Holy Family

After Raphael

Holy Family

Sale Date: January 4, 1995

Auction Closed

Le Massacre des Innocents

After Raphael

Le Massacre des Innocents

Sale Date: December 20, 1994

Auction Closed

Madonna della Sedia, 1887

After Raphael

Madonna della Sedia, 1887

Sale Date: December 17, 1994

Auction Closed

Madonna mit dem Stieglitz, 1800

After Raphael

Madonna mit dem Stieglitz, 1800

Sale Date: December 17, 1994

Auction Closed

La Madonna della Seggiola

After Raphael

La Madonna della Seggiola

Sale Date: December 11, 1994

Auction Closed

The Madonna of the Goldfinch

After Raphael

The Madonna of the Goldfinch

Sale Date: December 11, 1994

Auction Closed

The Sistine Madonna

After Raphael

The Sistine Madonna

Sale Date: December 8, 1994

Auction Closed

La Sainte Famille (la Grande Sainte Famille de...

After Raphael

La Sainte Famille (la Grande Sainte Famille de...

Sale Date: December 8, 1994

Auction Closed

The Madonna of the Goldfinch

After Raphael

The Madonna of the Goldfinch

Sale Date: December 8, 1994

Auction Closed

Madonna della Seggiola

After Raphael

Madonna della Seggiola

Sale Date: December 6, 1994

Auction Closed

La vierge au diadSme bleu, 1800

After Raphael

La vierge au diadSme bleu, 1800

Sale Date: December 2, 1994

Auction Closed

Madonna med barnet

After Raphael

Madonna med barnet

Sale Date: November 30, 1994

Auction Closed

Madonna della Granduca

After Raphael

Madonna della Granduca

Sale Date: November 29, 1994

Auction Closed

The Madonna and Child with St. Elizabeth and the

After Raphael

The Madonna and Child with St. Elizabeth and the

Sale Date: November 24, 1994

Auction Closed

Madonna col Bambino

After Raphael

Madonna col Bambino

Sale Date: November 23, 1994

Auction Closed

Road to Calvary

After Raphael

Road to Calvary

Sale Date: November 17, 1994

Auction Closed

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.