Raphael at the Met: The Blockbuster Show Worth the Hype

I’ve just returned from the huge new Raphael exhibition, called Sublime Poetry, at the Met and all I have to say is WOW! Wow, wow, WOW! I have had a very soft spot for Raphael ever since Janice and I wrote our first novel, The Sidewalk Artist, in which we felt we told his “real” story. Seeing so many of his paintings and drawings up close – so close I could see the bumps and even one which displayed his handwriting – I was reminded of his delicacy, his appreciation of beauty, his diplomacy and entrepreneurial skill, his genius, and the loss of that genius at such a young age, only 37. Imagine if he’d lived as long as Leonardo or Michelangelo….

Seeing La Fornarina, the baker’s daughter, up close, felt like greeting an old friend. The twinkle in her eye, the rich chestnut of her hair, her Mona Lisa smile. And Baldassare Castiglione, whose portrait was about four times the size of what I’d expected. Raphael apparently ensured his bald friend wore a flattering and jaunty hat in his portrayal. I took pictures of them both for my website, then thought twice. You can see some excellent reproductions online. I certainly could not do better. But what I could take were pictures of lesser-known works, the kinds you almost surely would not see elsewhere, or know to look for. See below what caught my eye.

I urge you to go to the exhibition at the Met if you can before it closes on June 28, 2026. Feast your eyes on the beauty and mastery of Raphael.

Reunited and it feels so good: The Colonna Altarpiece, all pieces put together for the first time in five hundred years

Madonna and Child jointly attributed to Raphael and his best student, Giulio Romano

A lovely little cameo-type painting of Valerio Belli, an accomplished artisan and Raphael’s friend

A superb drawing of St. Peter’s architect Donato Bramante that was reproduced in Raphael’s *Disputa* fresco

More incredibly detailed preparatory drawings for the *School of Athens* fresco

A preparatory drawing that shows the unmistakable influence of Michelangelo, plus a sonnet by Raphael

Raphael’s sonnet up close, with cross outs and revisions – he only write a handful of poems

It was incredibly moving to see Raphael’s handwriting and glimpse into his thoughts. I used Gemini AI to help me make sense of the words, difficult at times to read, and give a translation. (DISCLAIMER: I do not use AI in any of my writing at all!) Below are what it provided, but I know enough Italian (although not very much) to be a little skeptical this is entirely correct, so please take it with a grain of salt. (If you are fluent in Italian and can provide a better translation, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!)

Transcription

Lo pensier che m’ivecchia e m’affanna

dov’io m’ prenda el cor e più m’appaga

e nel ringiovenir s’fà e rinasce

quello che m’ha tolto i begli anni.

S’egli è che ‘l pensier che m’arde e grida

mostrerà quel che alto che face

salìr da’ bassi ai più sublimi scanni.

Translation

The thought that ages me and brings me grief,

even as it grips my heart, it pleases me most;

for in renewing itself, it is born again—