Raphael's Cartoon for School of Athens Returns to Milan After Restoration

After four years of restoration, Raphael's full-scale cartoon for the School of Athens fresco is once again on public display in Milan. The work, drawn entirely by the hand of the Urbino master, is housed in a newly designed room at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, opened on March 27. Architect Stefano Boeri and his studio conceived the installation, which features a large anti-reflective glass case protecting the cartoon. A massive solid oak table, made from a single 150-year-old trunk in collaboration with Riva1920, serves as a didactic surface where visitors can consult historical texts explaining the work's origin and meaning. Boeri stated that the table transforms the space into a silent school, allowing contemplation of the drawing that itself depicts a school. The cartoon, a preparatory drawing for the Vatican Museums' fresco, retains its status as both a finished work and a step toward a final masterpiece.