A towering figure of the Italian Renaissance, Raffaello di Giovanni Santi, better known as Raphael, conveyed emotion and narrative in his work through breathtaking technique. His brief yet impactful career has secured his place in history as a legendary figure – his works perfectly embody the ideals of beauty and harmony of the Renaissance and are wholly inextricable from the study of art history.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will be featuring a new exclusive exhibit of the Renaissance master in what will be the United States’ most extensive display of the artist yet.
The exhibit, titled “Raphael: Sublime Poetry,” arrives at the Met in spring 2026 and will run from March 29 to June 28. This is a major opportunity, as the exhibit’s pieces will not travel to any other U.S. destination after the three months. The showcase will be free with general admission.
The exhibit will provide a unique chance for people to see Raphael’s sprawling portfolio, ranging from his masterpieces to lesser-known works. The curator of the exhibit is Carmen Bambach, who also curated the immensely popular 2017 exhibit “Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman & Designer.”
In a statement, Bambach said Raphael’s exhibit “is a thrilling opportunity to engage with his unique artistic personality through the visual power, intellectual depth, and tenderness of his imagery.”
Raphael’s career is primarily divided into three chapters and places: Urbino, his birthplace, where early artistry flourished; Florence, where he observed other artists and created works from 1504 to 1508; and Rome, where he spent the final stages of his life and worked at the papal courts.
More than 200 of his works will be on view, made possible by the international loaning of his art. It can be seen as a collective, generous effort, since many institutions have lent their pieces for this exhibit, from France to Budapest, Berlin and beyond.
Seeing the full scope of Raphael’s career will provide new depths of understanding of Raphael’s creative range. The juxtapositions between his finished paintings and more preliminary drawings will give fresh nuances into Raphael’s artistic process.
As the Met’s CEO, Max Hollein, said in a press release, “Visitors will have an exceptionally rare opportunity to experience the breathtaking range of his creative genius through some of the artist’s most iconic and seldom loaned works from around the globe—many never before shown together.”
