Raphael

Raphael (1483–1520), born Raffaello Sanzio at Urbino, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance, ranked with Leonardo and Michelangelo. He was an orphan at eleven. He probably trained under Pietro Perugino, was described as a master in 1500, and worked in Florence from 1504 to 1508, absorbing Leonardo and Michelangelo.

In 1508 Julius II called him to Rome to redecorate the Vatican apartments, now the Raphael Rooms, of which the School of Athens is the best known. After Bramante died in 1514 he took over St Peter's, and his large workshop executed much late work from his drawings.

Raphael never married and died on Good Friday, 6 April 1520, after a fifteen-day illness, possibly on his 37th birthday. His will left his studio to Giulio Romano and Penni, and at his request he was buried in the Pantheon, under an epitaph by Pietro Bembo.