Raphael

The definitive survey of one of the masters of Italian Renaissance art, featuring groundbreaking new research by a leading expert on Raphael's life and work

Though he lived a mere 37 years, Raphael (Raffaello di Giovanni Santi; 1483-1520) was a towering figure of the Italian Renaissance, achieving meteoric success not only as a painter, draftsman, designer, and architect but also as a humanist, antiquarian, and poet. Raphael: Sublime Poetry surveys the full breadth of his life and career, from his origins in the cultivated and learned city of his native Urbino through his prolific years in Florence, where he emerged as both a peer and a rival to Leonardo and Michelangelo, to his final, magnificent decade at the papal court in Rome. Bringing together more than 200 of his drawings, paintings, tapestries, and decorative arts from public and private collections around the world, renowned scholar Carmen C. Bambach offers a fresh perspective on this beloved artist, reconsidering his well-known masterpieces and uncovering the importance of rarely seen treasures. Drawing on recent archival discoveries and firsthand technical analysis of his work, this lavishly illustrated and meticulously researched volume establishes a new definitive resource on Raphael, his art, and his enduring legacy.

Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press

Exhibition Schedule:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
(March 29-June 28, 2026)