Raffaello Sanzio was born in Urbino, Italy on April
6, 1483 and died in Rome on April 6, 1520. He was among the most
brilliant artists of the high renaissance, and is generally regarded
as among the greatest painters in history. He is best known for
his Madonnas and his large figure compositions such as Scuola
Di Atene. The vitality of his compositions is remarkable as noted
by Vasari in his Lives of the Artists:
"While we may term other works paintings, those
of Raphael are living things; the flesh palpitates, the breath
comes and goes, every organ lives, life pulsates everywhere."
Raphael included himself in the fresco. He can be
seen with Sodoma looking at the viewer on the extreme right hand
side of the painting behind the pillar.
"Pope Julius II Della Rovere commissioned 25
year old Raphael Sanzio in 1508 to paint the frescos in his four
room apartment on the top floor. Three of the rooms were of modest
dimensions, while the fourth one was considerably larger; with
the completion of the work, the rooms became known as "The
Raphael Stanze" .
They comprise the Stanza della Segnatura, the Stanza of Heliodorus,
the Stanza of the Borgo Fire and the Sala of Constantine. The
Raphael Loggia consist of 13 arches forming a gallery 65 meters
long and 4 meters wide. The construction was started by Bramante
in 1512, under Pope Julius II and was completed by Raphael Sanzio
under the reign of Leo X. The pictorial work was initiated in
1517. The 52 scenes on the ceilings of the loggia are still popularly
referred as "The Raphael Bible".
To read more about Raphael and to study his painting,
examine the following web pages: