Raphael

About Raphael's Paintings

Raffaello Sanzio, known as Raphael (1483–1520), was born in Urbino, a court city in central Italy where his father was painter to the duke. He grew up surrounded by humanist learning and the idea that beauty was a form of moral seriousness. By his mid-teens he was an independent master; by twenty-five he had been summoned to Rome by Pope Julius II to decorate the papal apartments in the Vatican — a commission that produced, in the Stanza della Segnatura, the 'School of Athens' and some of the most ambitious frescoes in the history of Western art.

In a career cut short at thirty-seven by a sudden fever, Raphael defined grace, harmony, and compositional mastery for five centuries of Western painting. His Madonnas set the standard for the genre; his portraits — particularly 'Baldassare Castiglione' — achieved a dignity of character that portraiture rarely surpassed before or since. He died on his thirty-seventh birthday in 1520. Rome mourned publicly. He is buried in the Pantheon.

Famous Paintings by Raphael

• The School of Athens (1509–11) — the fresco that defines High Renaissance ambition
• Sistine Madonna (c. 1512) — the Virgin descending from heaven
• The Transfiguration (1516–20) — his final, unfinished masterpiece
• Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione (c. 1514–15)
• La Fornarina (c. 1518–19)
• Madonna della Sedia (c. 1513–14)
• Madonna of the Goldfinch (1505–06)
• The Marriage of the Virgin (1504)
• Disputation over the Blessed Sacrament (1509–10)
• Portrait of Pope Julius II (c. 1511–12)

Why Raphael's Paintings Endure

Raphael's paintings endure because they achieve something technically almost impossible: perfect ease. His compositions look inevitable — as if no other arrangement of figures in that space were conceivable. The 'School of Athens' organises more than fifty figures across a vast architectural space without a single one feeling crowded or incidental. His Madonnas hold their children with a tenderness that reads as completely natural while conforming to compositional structures of formidable complexity. The craft is invisible, which is the highest form of craft.

Three centuries of European painters — Reynolds, Ingres, the French Academics — looked to Raphael as the standard of excellence. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood took their name from the desire to work before his influence, which tells you how complete that influence had become. Even in rebellion against him, painters defined themselves in relation to what he had achieved. His ideal of beauty as an expression of clarity, balance, and human dignity has not dated.

Raphael Art Prints on Mojud

Mojud holds a collection of Raphael's works spanning his development from the gentle Umbrian panels of his early career through the Vatican frescoes, the great Roman Madonnas, and the portraits of his final years. Every work is available at full resolution to explore and download for free, or to order as a fine-art print made to order in our studio.

• Raphael works available in the collection
• Free high-resolution downloads — no account needed
• Museum-grade fine-art prints, made to order
• Ships across India

Frequently Asked Questions

• What are Raphael's most famous paintings?

  Raphael is best known for 'The School of Athens' (1509–11), the monumental fresco in the Vatican's Stanza della Segnatura. His 'Sistine Madonna' (c. 1512), the source of the famous cherubs, is equally celebrated. 'The Transfiguration', 'Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione', 'La Fornarina', and his series of Madonnas are also central to his reputation.

• What period of art history did Raphael belong to?

  Raphael is the supreme representative of the High Renaissance — the period roughly 1490 to 1527 that also produced Leonardo's 'Last Supper' and Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling. The High Renaissance ideal of harmony, proportion, and the dignity of the human figure finds its most complete expression in his work.

• Where is 'The School of Athens' kept?

  'The School of Athens' is a fresco painted directly on the wall of the Stanza della Segnatura in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City. It cannot be moved. The 'Sistine Madonna' is in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, Germany. 'Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione' is in the Louvre in Paris.

• How old was Raphael when he died?

  Thirty-seven. Raphael died on 6 April 1520 — reportedly on his own birthday — from a sudden fever. The brevity of his career makes its achievement all the more astonishing. He is buried in the Pantheon in Rome, where he requested to lie near his unfinished 'Transfiguration'.

• Can I download Raphael paintings for free from Mojud?

  Yes. All Raphael works in the Mojud collection can be downloaded in high resolution at no cost. No account is required.