Raphael explained to kids

Raphael was an Italian painter and architect who lived during the High Renaissance. He is best known for his paintings, which include The School of Athens, The Sistine Madonna, and his most famous work, the Madonnas. Raphael was born in 1483 in the town of Urbino, in the region of Umbria. His full name was Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino. When Raphael was only eleven years old, his father, Giovanni Santi, died. Santi had been a painter, and so Raphael was exposed to the arts at a young age. After his father's death, Raphael's mother, Màgia Ciarla, married Simone, a stonecutter. Raphael began his career as an apprentice to Pietro Perugino, a painter from Umbria. He soon moved to Florence, where he studied the works of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. In 1508, Raphael was invited to Rome by Pope Julius II. There, he painted the pope's private chapel, known as the Stanza della Segnatura. The Stanza della Segnatura is considered Raphael's masterpiece, and contains The School of Athens, one of the most famous paintings of all time. Raphael's style was characterized by its clarity, elegance, and harmony. He frequently used the S-shape, or serpentine line, in his compositions. This can be seen in The Sistine Madonna, in which the Virgin Mary is surrounded by swirling lines. Raphael died in 1520, at the age of 37. The cause of his death is unknown, but it is believed that he may have contracted a fever while working on his final painting, The Transfiguration.