Raphael

Raffaello Sanzio, known as Raphael, is an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance, absolute master of harmony and grace whose work embodies the Renaissance ideal of classical beauty. Born in Urbino and trained in Perugino's workshop, he quickly develops a personal style characterized by formal perfection, luminous softness, and unmatched mastery of pyramidal composition. His serene Madonnas, his monumental frescoes in the Vatican - notably the Raphael Rooms and the famous School of Athens - as well as his psychological portraits demonstrate a perfect synthesis between naturalist observation and Neoplatonic idealization. Rival of Michelangelo and protégé of Popes Julius II and Leo X, he directs a prolific workshop that spreads his style throughout Europe, establishing for centuries the canons of ideal beauty and harmonious composition. Dying prematurely at 37, he leaves a work of technical and spiritual perfection that makes him, with Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, one of the three giants of the Italian Renaissance.