237 Works by Raphael — He Finally Came to America

America Has Never Had a Proper Raphael Exhibition

Leonardo has had one. Michelangelo too — in 2017, in this same building. But Raphael, widely considered the most 'perfect' of the Renaissance trinity, has been absent. In spring 2026, the Met finally fills that gap: 237 works, over 175 by Raphael himself, spanning from his teenage apprenticeship in Urbino to his sudden death in Rome at 37. An entire career laid out in one visit.

The Louvre, the Borghese, the Uffizi, the National Gallery of Art in Washington — the world's top institutions have all lent simultaneously. An assembly this comprehensive is rare even by the standards of Raphael scholarship.

The Colonna Altarpiece: Reunited for the First Time in Centuries

Raphael painted this multi-panel altarpiece at age 21 for a convent in Perugia — the Madonna enthroned at center, saints flanking her, God the Father in the lunette above, three narrative predella panels below. When the convent was suppressed in the 17th century, the work was dismembered and sold off. The pieces ended up at the Met, the National Gallery in London, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. They have never been in the same room since.

Until now.

This reunion is not just about completing a puzzle. It's the first chance to see how a 21-year-old Raphael handled a major religious commission in its entirety: his compositional logic, his color layering, and the precise points where he inherited from and surpassed his teacher Perugino.

La Fornarina: Only the Second Time She Has Left Italy

The Borghese Gallery's crown jewel, La Fornarina — Raphael's semi-nude portrait of his lover Margherita Luti, a baker's daughter — has almost never been loaned. This is only the second time she has left Italy. Raphael signed his own name on the armband she wears ('RAPHAEL URBINAS'), the only known instance of him signing directly on a subject's body. X-ray analysis revealed he originally painted a landscape background, later covering it with myrtle branches — a symbol of Venus and love.

When Raphael died in 1520, this painting was still in his studio. Legend says Margherita entered a convent after his death.

The Castiglione Portrait: The Painting That Influenced Rembrandt and Cézanne

The Louvre's Portrait of Baldassarre Castiglione is a textbook of Renaissance portraiture — gray-blue tonality, a gentle gaze, understated black velvet. This painting influenced at least two later masters: Rembrandt sketched its composition at a 1639 auction and used it for a self-portrait; Cézanne drew inspiration from it as well. The same composition, deployed by three masters across 400 years.

The Alba Madonna: Perfect Balance in a Circle

During his Florence period, Raphael absorbed Leonardo's sfumato and Michelangelo's sculptural force, then channeled both into a series of increasingly masterful Madonnas. The Alba Madonna is the pinnacle — he placed the Virgin, the Christ Child, and the young John the Baptist inside a tondo, the three figures forming a perfect triangle. The Madonna's expression simultaneously conveys tenderness and a premonition of Christ's suffering. The Renaissance ideal of 'harmony' reaches its limit in this painting.

How to Visit

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York. Adults $30 (includes general admission), no separate exhibition ticket required. Exhibition runs March 29 to June 28, 2026. With 237 works on view, plan at least 3 hours.