tello. In 1500 Raphael apprenticed to the
painter Pietro Vannucci, also known as Pe-
rugino, under whom he developed a strik-
ing, expressive personal style in a series of
religious paintings, including theMarriage
of the Virgin, and theMond Crucifixion.
Ambitious and hardworking, he moved to
Florence in 1504, and soon came under
the influence of Leonardo da Vinci’s paint-
ings as well as the works of Fra Bartolom-
meo. TheMona Lisaof Leonardo served
as a model for Raphael’s portraits of Ag-
nolo and Maddalena Doni, which he com-
pleted in 1505. In Florence, Raphael
painted a series of Madonnas in which he
adopted Leonardo’s sfumato method of
soft contours as well as Leonardo’s typical
pyramid composition, with complex
groups of figures rising to a single point.
His most famous work from this period,
the Entombment, borrowed ideas from
Michelangelo’s paintingBattle of Cascina.
In 1508 Raphael left Florence for
Rome,wherehewasengagedbyPopeJu-
lius II to decorate a series of rooms known
as the Stanza della Segnatura. These fresco
paintings, which the artist completed in
1511, were based on the subjects of theol-
ogy, philosophy, poetry, and law. They in-
cludeThe Triumph of Religion andThe
School of Athens, one of the most impor-
tant works of the late Renaissance, in
which classical philosophers gesture and
pose in a setting of opulent grandeur. Over
the following years Raphael also painted
frescoes in the Stanza d’Eliodoro that in-
clude The Expulsion of Heliodorus, The
Miracle of Bolsena, The Repulse of Attila
from Romeby Leo I, and theLiberation of
St. Peter. In his studio he completed a se-
ries of famous Madonnas, including the
Sistine Madonna, The Madonna of the
Chair, Madonna with the Fish, and theAlba
Madonna.
The work he completed at the Vatican
spread Raphael’s name and fame through-
out Italy. In Rome, he presided over one
of the city’s busiest and most successful
workshops. Raphael hired a large staff of
assistants to complete the frescoes in the
Stanza dell’Incendio and the Vatican log-
gias between 1514 and 1519. In this pe-
riod he also created a series of ten car-
toons (designs) of the lives of Saint Peter
and Saint Paul for tapestries that were to
decorate the Sistine Chapel. These draw-
ings were sent to workshops in Brussels,
Belgium, where they helped to spread his
fame and painting style to northern Eu-
rope.
In the meantime, the pope engaged
Raphael as his chief architect after the
death of Donato Bramante in 1514.
Raphael designed chapels in Sant’ Eligio
degli Orefici and Santa Maria del Popolo
in Rome, and a small section of the new
Basilica of Saint Peter. He also designed
several aristocratic palaces, adopting for
them the classical style of Donato Bra-
mante, adding detailed ornaments and
flourishes that would become typical of
later Renaissance and Baroque architec-
ture.
In Rome Raphael also created several
masterpieces of Renaissance portraiture,
including famous paintings of Baldassare
Castiglione, Pope Julius II, and the latter’s
successor, Pope Leo X. He collaborated
with Marcantonio Raimondi in his print-
ing shop to produce such engravings as
The Massacre of the InnocentsandLucretia.
These inexpensive prints were made by the
thousands and circulated throughout Italy,
making Raphael’s name and works known
to commoners as well as aristocrats. His
largest painting,The Transfiguration, was
still unfinished in 1520, when Raphael died
suddenly at a young age and of mysterious
causes.Raphael