Name: Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino
Birth-Death Dates: c. 1483-1520
Location: Urbino, Florence, Rome

Personality Traits: Charming, refined, collaborative, ambitious
Marital Status: Never married, but famously engaged to Maria Bibbiena. He was rumored to have had a passionate affair with his muse, La Fornarina
Intriguing Personal Details: Known for his beauty, manners, and charisma. He moved easily among popes, princes, and painters alike. Died suddenly at age 37, supposedly from “excesses in love.”

Art Style: High Renaissance
Subjects: Madonnas, biblical scenes, classical themes, papal commissions
Education/Background: Trained by his father Giovanni Santi, then apprenticed under Pietro Perugino
Mentors and Influences: Perugino, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo
Esteem During Lifetime: Exceptionally esteemed. By the time he was in his 20s, he was working in the Vatican and considered a rival to Michelangelo
Major Works: The School of Athens, Sistine Madonna, Transfiguration, Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints, La Fornarina

Inspirations: Harmony, classical beauty, divine grace, and idealized human emotion
Legacy: Considered the paragon of Renaissance painting. His balance of grace, clarity, and composition became the model for centuries of European art.
Fun Facts: Buried in the Pantheon in Rome. Even Michelangelo respected him, though their rivalry was legendary.