Italy Celebrates 500th Year Death Anniversary of Ground-Breaking Painter, Raphael Sanzio
April 6, 2020
Today, is the 500-year death anniversary of Italy’s great painter, Raffaello Sanzio. This highly emotive moment was to be celebrated at Scuderie del Quirinale’s gallery in Rome and at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, who have put on a joint exhibition of the master until June 2nd, 2020, however, we’ll just have to make a toast from home!
Raffaello Sanzio, the most defining painter of the Italian Renaissance, died in Rome at the young age of thirty-seven on April 6th, 1520. While Michelangelo had the marveling touch of a sculptor, Raphael’s paintings portrayed a luminous beauty and soft hand yet dynamic compositions throughout his diverse career. Rome, then and now, mourned for the loss of this universal genius. The news of his death spread through all of the 16th century European courts. His creative adventure had taken him from his native home of Urbino in the Le Marche regions of Italy from Florence, Umbria and the pope’s palace in Rome. He was buried according to his last wishes in Rome’s Pantheon, where you can still visit his tomb today.
Once you visit him in the harmonious Pantheon, take a Raphael tour and visit our favorite paintings in Rome that demonstrate his wide-ranging talent.
List of Raphael’s Masterpieces in Rome to See –
The Four Raphael’s Rooms, 1508 – 1511
The Four Rooms are: Room of Constatine, Room of Heliodorus, Room of the Segnatura, Room of the Fire in the Borgo
Fresco
To visit in the Vatican Museums in Rome
Madonna of Foligno, 1511
Oil on wood, transferred to canvas
On display at the Vatican Museums
Portrait of a Woman in the Role of Venus (Fornarina), 1519-1520
Oil on wood panel
On display at Palazzo Barberini in Rome
The Deposition, 1507
Oil on wood
On display at the Borghese Gallery in Rome
Young Woman with Unicorn, 1506
Oil on wood, transferred to canvas
On display at the Borghese Gallery in Rome
Portrait of Andrea Navagero and Agostino Beazzano, 1516
Oil on canvas
On display at the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome
Yes, we’re stuck at home, but the beauty of this digital age is that we can enjoy all the high-resolution images we want! Download the list of Raphael’s masterpieces chosen for the Scuderie del Quirinale here and don’t forget to revisit Italy’s Best blog for more Italian tidbits to keep the excitement going until we get to take you on a personal tour in our home country of Italy again.
