Met reframes Raphael for its blockbuster exhibition.

The article focuses on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition "Raphael: Sublime Poetry," the first comprehensive U.S. show dedicated to the Renaissance artist Raphael (1483–1520). Featuring 237 works, including 33 paintings and 142 drawings, the exhibition spans Raphael’s career from his origins in Urbino to his prominence in Papal Rome, with major loans from institutions such as the National Gallery of Art, the Louvre, and the Uffizi. Curator Carmen C. Bambach emphasizes presenting Raphael’s work within a broader social and historical context, particularly addressing themes of motherhood and childhood mortality to counterbalance the traditional, idealized depictions of the Madonna. The exhibition also includes recent scholarly research, such as the reattribution of a modello drawing for the Altarpiece of the Ecstasy of Saint Cecilia to Raphael himself. [Extracted from the article]