Raphael: Sublime Poetry
Leonardo has had a major US show. Michelangelo too — in 2017, in this very building. But Raphael, widely considered the most accomplished of the Renaissance trinity, has never received one in the United States. In spring 2026, the Met finally fills that gap: 237 works, over 175 by Raphael himself, with simultaneous loans from the Louvre, the Borghese, the Uffizi, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington — an assembly rare even by the standards of Raphael scholarship.
Three Cities, One Complete Life
The exhibition follows Raphael's geographic biography, organizing 237 works into three major chapters that trace his full arc from prodigy to master to sudden death at 37.
Chapter One · Urbino and Perugia (c. 1483–1504)
Born to a court painter in Urbino, Raphael entered Perugino's workshop as a teenager. This chapter presents his earliest independent works, including the Colonna Altarpiece — a multi-panel commission for a Perugian convent that was dismembered in the 17th century and scattered across three countries. This is the first time all its parts have been in the same room in centuries, offering a clear view of a 21-year-old artist breaking free from his teacher's manner.
Chapter Two · Florence (c. 1504–1508)
In 1504, Raphael arrived in Florence and encountered both Leonardo and Michelangelo at once. Rather than being overwhelmed, he rapidly absorbed the strengths of each — Leonardo's sfumato and psychological depth, Michelangelo's sculptural volume and force. This period produced a stream of increasingly masterful Madonnas. The Alba Madonna in this exhibition comes from this phase — a tondo in which the Virgin's tenderness and her premonition of Christ's suffering coexist in perfect equilibrium, the pinnacle of Raphael's Madonna series.
Chapter Three · Rome (c. 1508–1520)
In 1508, Pope Julius II summoned the 25-year-old Raphael to Rome to paint the walls of the Vatican Stanze — the School of Athens was born on one of them. Raphael soon held dual roles as the papacy's chief painter and architect of St. Peter's Basilica, a workload equivalent to running an entire studio single-handedly. The exhibition pairs preparatory drawings with finished works to reveal his process from conception to completion. The Louvre's Portrait of Baldassarre Castiglione and the Borghese's La Fornarina — making only her second trip outside Italy — both appear in this chapter. The former is a textbook of Renaissance portraiture; the latter is a semi-nude portrait of Raphael's lover that was still in his studio when he died.
On April 6, 1520, he died on his 37th birthday. It was also Good Friday.
Visitor Information
- Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028
- Dates: March 29 – June 28, 2026
- Tickets: Adults $30 (includes general admission), no separate exhibition ticket required
- Tip: With 237 works on view, plan at least 3 hours
Curated Stories
Deep dives curated for this exhibition
237 Works by Raphael — He Finally Came to America
The only Renaissance master who never had a US retrospective finally gets one. The Louvre, Borghese, and Uffizi lend simultaneously; the Colonna Altarpiece reunites for the first time in centuries; La Fornarina leaves Italy for only the second time. At the Met this summer.
Raphael's Women: Madonnas, Lovers, and Muses
Virgin Marys, enigmatic noblewomen, and a secret lover—how Raphael defined feminine beauty across the Renaissance.
Influencing Rembrandt and Cézanne: 500 Years of Castiglione
From Rembrandt to Cézanne, how this understated portrait became the ultimate template for later artists through its flawless sense of ease.
Reunited After 400 Years: The Destiny of the Colonna Altarpiece
Falling from a convent altar, sold by royalty, and scattered across the globe. The fate of Raphael's altarpiece is stranger than any fiction.
This exhibition closed in 2026 in New York. Its stories remain here — for those who were there, and those who wish they had been.