Met Exhibition Celebrates Renaissance Master Raphael
Why this is here: The exhibition features 144 of Raphael’s preparatory drawings, allowing viewers to see the evolution of his work and confirm the authenticity of pieces previously attributed to his workshop.
A major retrospective dedicated to Renaissance artist Raphael has opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The exhibition, the first comprehensive show of his work in the United States, features approximately 237 works from over sixty museums and private collections worldwide. It includes paintings, drawings, tapestries, and designs, spanning his brief but prolific career from the late 1490s until his death in 1520 at age 37.
The show represents a significant international collaboration, according to Met director Max Hollein. Masterpieces from institutions like the Prado Museum and the Louvre are on display until June 28th. Curator Carmen Bambach highlights the exhibition’s focus on demonstrating Raphael’s artistic process through 144 preparatory drawings alongside finished works.
Bambach, a leading expert on Raphael, notes the exhibition—seven years in the making—aims to present the artist as equal to Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. She describes Raphael as a “prodigy” whose creative output was immense despite his short life, and suggests his death may have been due to overwork.