By the time he was 26, Raphael was
recognized as one of Italy's most important artists, popular with popes,
rich merchants and other leaders as well as ordinary people. Raphael was known
to be sweet-natured and agreeable--in fact, the opposite in temperament of his
peer, Michelangelo. Raphael was not only considered, in his day, to be the greatest
painter of all time, he was also an architect and a specialist in Greek and
Roman art. Some of his most famous works include "Saint George and the Dragon" (right)
and "The Marriage of the Virgin". He died on his 37th birthday of a "high and
continuous fever". 
Raffaello
Sanzio (1493-1530)
One of the great Renaissance artists, Raphael Sanzio was born in Urbino, Italy in 1493.
His father was a painter and Raphael's first teacher. Raphael's mother died
when he was eight years old and his father died three years later, leaving Raphael
an orphan. Raphael became a magister (head of a painting school) at age 17.
When he was 21, he moved to Florence, the art capital of Europe at the time.
It was there that he met and studied with other great artists of the time,
including Leonardo da Vinci and
Michelangelo.
Copyright 1998-2005 Sanford