Puttentanz

c. 1504 – c. 1508 · Werkzaam in

Florence

1508

Moves to Rome at the invitation of Julius II

The new pope, Julius II, invited Raphael to Rome, perhaps at the suggestion of his architect Bramante, a distant relative of the artist. Unlike Michelangelo, kept waiting for months after his summons, Raphael was immediately commissioned to fresco what was to become the pope's private library, a far larger commission than any he had had before.

1513

Leo X becomes pope

The death of Julius II did not interrupt the work: his successor, the Medici Pope Leo X, became Raphael's last and even closer patron, and Raphael's friend Cardinal Bibbiena was a close friend and adviser of the new pope.

1514

Chief architect of St Peter's

After Bramante's death Raphael became chief architect of the new St Peter's and continued Bramante's construction of the Vatican Loggias, whose vaults his pupils painted.

1514

Engaged to Maria Bibbiena

Raphael became engaged to Cardinal Bibbiena's niece Maria, apparently talked into it by his friend the cardinal and without much enthusiasm: the marriage had still not taken place when she died in 1520. A permanent fixture in his Roman life was “La Fornarina”, Margherita Luti, a baker's daughter.

1515

Prefect of the antiquities of Rome

Raphael was given powers as Prefect over all antiquities unearthed in Rome or within a mile of it: finds had to be reported to him within three days, and inscriptions could not be destroyed without permission. He wrote to the pope proposing ways to halt the destruction of ancient monuments and a survey to record them all.