Vatican exhibits Raphael’s legacy with the reopening of the Hall of Constantine
Victoria Cardiel | Catholic News Agency | 30th June 2025
In 1508, Raphael began painting four rooms in the Vatican. He died in 1520 before finishing the fourth, “most important” room, leaving that to his workshop. A decade-long cleaning shows the frescoes to be the “peak of high Renaissance artistry”. Michelangelo was working on the Sistine Chapel at the same time. While away in Florence (says a background piece), Raphael took a sneak peek and was impressed. “Some of his figures [become] bigger, brighter, more monumental: he has now seen Michelangelo.”