Biography of Raphael

Raphael was an Italian painter and architect of the Italian high renaissance. His full name is Raphaello Sanzi or Santi and he is best known for his beautiful Madonnas. He is also famous for his large figure compositions in the Vatican in Rome. He was born (in Urbino, Italy) in 1483, son of Giovanni Santi and Magia di Battista Ciarla. Unfortunately his mother died in 1491 when Raphael was only 8 years old. His father gave his son …

…design 10 tapestries and chose him to work on the basilica of St Peter's. Raphael also designed churches and painted many more Madonnas. Raphael died on his 37th birthday. His funeral mass was celebrated at the Vatican and his last masterpiece 'Transfiguration' was placed at the head of bier. Finally his body was buried in the pantheon in Rome. *sfumato - the use of extremely fine, soft shading instead of line to delineate forms and features