Metropolitan Museum of Art Presents Major Raphael Retrospective Featuring 237 Works

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has opened a comprehensive retrospective dedicated to Renaissance master Raphael, titled 'Raphael: Sublime Poetry.' This exhibition, which began public viewing on a recent Sunday, represents the first U.S. survey of its kind for the artist. Curated by Carmen C. Bambach over eight years, the show features 237 items including paintings, drawings, and textiles, with notable loans such as Raphael's 'Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione' from the Louvre, which hasn't traveled to America in twenty years. The exhibition challenges traditional notions of artistic genius by including numerous works not directly created by Raphael, highlighting his collaborative workshop practices and influences from predecessors like his father Giovanni Santi, mentor Perugino, and Leonardo da Vinci. Key sections focus on Raphael's portrait gallery, his development from early training to Roman commissions for popes, and his impact on subsequent artistic movements including Mannerism and Neoclassicism. The show also features rare loans like three large tapestries from Madrid that haven't left Spain since the 16th century, and reunites elements of the Colonna Altarpiece for the first time in centuries. Through drawings, paintings, and collaborative works, the exhibition demonstrates how Raphael synthesized innovations from other artists while developing techniques that established enduring principles of perspective and composition.