ABOUT RAPHAEL
Raphael is widely considered as one of the greatest artists of the High Renaissance. He is well known for his many paintings of the Virgin Mary. Not much is known about Raphael's early life. He was born in 1483 in Urbino, Italy. His father was a painter as well, and taught him many basic painting techniques that he used in many of his famous pieces of art. His first commission was in 1501 when he was asked to paint the Coronation of the Virgin for the Church of San Francesco in Perugia. In 1504 he moved to Florence, the home of many famous painters like Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci. Florence is were he gained recognition from major commissioners. He modeled his drawing techniques after those of Leonardo da Vinci. By learning Da Vinci’s techniques he was able to create much more complex and intricate pieces of art. Even though he learned most of his techniques from the major artists of his period he was able to transform what he learned into artwork that was uniquely his own. Even though he gained major recognition in Florence his career really took off in Rome when he was called there in 1509 by Pope Julius II. He remained in Rome for the rest of his career. He painted many pieces in the Vatican along with one of his most famous pieces, The School of Athens. Raphael's career was cut short however when he died at the young age of 37 in 1520.