the raphael rooms

raphael paintings

In 1508 Pope Julius II commissioned Italy’s best painters to decorate a series of rooms upstairs in the Apostolic Palace.

Julius refused to sleep in the Borgia Apartments where his predecessor Pope Alexander VI Borgia had slept.

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raphael sanzio

Initially Raphael was a minor name.

Upon seeing his work, the Pope entrusted the entire project to Raphael and he brought in his own assistants to help him carry out the work.

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raphael artist artwork

The project took 16 years to complete (1508 to 1524) and spanned two Popes (Julius II and Leo X).

Unfortunately, Raphael died in 1520 on his 37th birthday meaning the last room, the Hall of Constantine, had to be painted by his assistants Giulio Romano and Giovanni Francesco Penni.

This is the first room people enter due to the flow of the Vatican, so the visitor is viewing the rooms chronologically backwards.

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raphael school of athens

Another commission started in 1508 was the Sistine Chapel ceiling which would hugely influence Raphael’s style.

Raphael and Michelangelo were rivals for work and disliked each other personally although Raphael came to respect Michelangelo’s painting talent once the chapel was unveiled in 1512.

There are four rooms in the Raphael Stanze and each room has four wall paintings and a ceiling.

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raphael artist

The Hall of Constantine – This first room you visit was a reception hall, showing scenes from the life of the first Christian Emperor, including:

the Vision of the Cross

the Battle of the Milvian Bridge

the Donation of Constantine

the Baptism of Constantine

the Triumph of the Christian Religion.

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raphael renaissance

The Room of Heliodorous – This second room was a private meeting room and it shows:

the Expulsion from the Temple

the Meeting of Leo and Attila

the Mass at Bolsena

the Liberation of Peter from Prison.

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school of athens raphael

The Room of the Signature – This third rooms was the office or study where important documents were signed shows:

• the School of Athens regarded as a masterpiece

• the Disputation of the Most Holy Sacrament

• Mount Parnassus

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raphael paintings

The Room of the Fire in the Borgo – This last room was used as a dinning and music room, showing:

• the Coronation of Charlemagne

• the Battle of Ostia

• the Justification of Leo

• the Fire in the Borgo

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raphael painting

The Raphael Rooms take about 40 minutes to view (or as long as you like) and would suit those who are interested in Renaissance frescoes.

I recommend doing them if your tour takes place in the morning.

You have to see the Borgia Apartments and the Modern Art Gallery afterwards, so the entire section takes 45 minutes to one hour.

They are usually optional, although in the afternoon the Vatican Guards can force people through them, and photos are allowed without flash.

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