During the cleaning of the Vatican Museums, restorers suddenly discovered two frescoes that the master Raphael had not finished before his death in 1520.
A 500-year-old mystery in the Vatican has just been solved. Two paintings by Renaissance master Raphael have been discovered during the cleaning and restoration of a room in the Vatican Museums.
Experts believe these are the last works of Raphael before his death at the age of 37 in 1520.
“Knowing that these were his final strokes, I almost felt the presence of the master,” Fabio Piacentini, head of the Vatican’s restoration department, told CNN.
Portraits of two female figures, one representing Justice, the other representing Friendship, were portrayed by Raphael circa 1519 but he died before he could complete the rest of the room. After his death, other painters finished decorating the rooms, but two of Raphael’s drawings were neglected.
In 1508, Raphael was commissioned by Pope Julius II to decorate the rooms of the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope. The artist completed three rooms, now known as the “Raphael Room “, with famous frescoes such as the ” School of Athens”.
Then he planned to decorate the fourth room, the largest room for the banquet called the Hall of Constantine. He plans to oil the room instead of using the traditional fresco technique.
Portrait of the female figure representing Justice in Raphael’s newly discovered fresco in the Vatican Museums. (Photo: CNN).
The ancient book “The Lives of the Best Painters, Sculptors and Architects” by Giorgio Vasari in 1550 says that Raphael began to experiment with a new oil painting technique to portray characters.
This clue is key to the recent discovery. When restorers began cleaning the walls of the Hall of Constantine this year, they noticed that portraits of two female figures were painted in oil while the rest of the room was decorated using fresco techniques.
Ultraviolet and infrared images confirmed the suspicions of scholars. The two oil paintings show more advanced techniques than the rest. In the eyes of experts, this is one of the reasons to confirm that the author is Raphael.
Vatican restorer Fabio Piacentini says the work represents Raphael’s signature. “This is reflected in the way the brush moves, even the subtlety in using the brush tip to create tiny hairs,” explains Piacentini.
Raphael also produces unusual shades of color that are gradually revealed during the cleaning process. Also, there’s no indication of the sketch layer underneath the two characters. This shows Raphael’s mastery over less novice painters when it comes to sketching.
The head of the Vatican Museums Barbara Jatta said the restoration of the two paintings and the entire room will last at least until 2022. “Aside from the Sistine Chapel, this is one of the most important projects in decades. was done at the Vatican Museums,” she said.
Raphael’s “School of Athens” fresco. (Photo: Creative Commons).
Although it seems there are no other masterpieces hidden on the walls of the Vatican, restorers and scholars of the museum are always on the lookout. “That’s the great thing about every project. We are still searching non-stop,” said Jatta.
The restoration of two newly discovered paintings of Raphael and the rest of the Constantine Hall at the Vatican will be completed in 2022 at a cost of 2.7 million euros (about .1 million).
Vatican Museums director Barbara Jatta said most of the costs to date have been funded by the New York branch of the Vatican Art Patrons Association. Patrons are a special group of donors, mainly from the US, Europe and, increasingly, from Asia, supporting the restoration of works of art in the Vatican.
“We have an annual wishbook of important projects underway. We share ideas with them,” says Barbara Jatta.
Individuals can become a member of the Vatican Patrons of the Arts for an annual fee of 0. Thereby, they can contribute to special restoration projects in the Vatican Museums’ Wish Book, and at the same time contribute to the restoration and protection of the cultural heritage of the Vatican and the world.