“Raphael: Sublime Poetry, on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art March 29 to June 28, 2026, will be the first comprehensive, international loan exhibition in the United States on Raphael (Raffaello di Giovanni Santi; 1483–1520), considered one of the greatest artists of all time. This landmark exhibition will explore the full breadth of his life and career, from his origins in Urbino to his prolific years in Florence, where he began to emerge as a peer to Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, to his final decade at the papal court in Rome. Bringing together more than 200 works, including over 170 of Raphael’s most important drawings, paintings, tapestries, and decorative arts from public and private collections around the world, the exhibition will offer a fresh perspective on this defining figure of the Italian Renaissance, presenting his renowned masterpieces alongside rarely seen treasures to reveal an extraordinarily creative mind.”— The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Installation views of Raphael: Sublime Poetry, on view March 29–June 28, 2026 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photos by Eileen Travell, Courtesy of The Met. 

“This unprecedented exhibition will offer a groundbreaking look at the brilliance and legacy of Raphael, a true titan of the Italian Renaissance,” said Max Hollein, The Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and Chief Executive Officer. “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.”

“The seven-year journey of putting together this exhibition has been an extraordinary chance to reframe my understanding of this monumental artist,” said Carmen Bambach, the Marica F. and Jan T. Vilcek Curator in The Met’s Department of Drawings and Prints. “It is a thrilling opportunity to engage with his unique artistic personality through the visual power, intellectual depth, and tenderness of his imagery.”

Raphael: Sublime Poetry is curated by Carmen C. Bambach, the Marica F. and Jan T. Vilcek Curator in the Department of Drawings and Prints at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Title image: Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi), Italian, Urbino 1483–1520 Rome. The Virgin and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist in a Landscape (The Alba Madonna), ca. 1509-11. Oil on canvas, transferred from wood. 37 3/16 in. (94.5 cm). Framed: 55 1/4 in. x 6 1/4 in. (140.3 x 15.9 cm). National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (1937.1.24). Lender Obj. No.: 1937.1.24

Images courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.