The 500-year mystery of the artist Raphael is decoded in the Vatican

During the cleanup of the Vatican Museum, restorers suddenly discovered two frescoes that master Raphael had not yet completed before his death in 1520.

A 500-year mystery in the Vatican has just been deciphered. Two Raphael Renaissance paintings were discovered during the cleanup and restoration of a room in the Vatican Museum.

Experts believe that these were Raphael's final works before dying at the age of 37 in 1520.

'Knowing that these are his final touches, I almost feel the presence of the master' , Fabio Piacentini, head of Vatican restoration, told CNN.

The portrait of two female characters, one representing Justice, the other representing the Friendship, was portrayed by Raphael around 1519 but he died before he could complete the rest of the room. After his death, other artists completed the decoration of the rooms, but two of Raphael's paintings were forgotten.

Clue

In 1508, Raphael was commissioned by Pope Julius II to decorate rooms in the Apostolic Palace, the official papal residence. The painting completed 3 rooms, now known as the "Raphael Room ", with famous murals like " Athens School".

After that, he planned to decorate the fourth room, the largest room used for parties was called Constantine Hall. He planned to paint the room oil instead of using traditional fresco paint techniques.

Portrait of a female character representing Justice in Raphael's newly discovered mural in the Vatican Museum.(Photo: CNN).

The old book 'The life of the best painters, sculptors and architects' of Giorgio Vasari in 1550 said Raphael began testing new oil painting techniques to portray the character.

This clue is the key to the recent discovery. When restoration workers began cleaning the walls of Constantine Hall this year, they found portraits of two female characters painted with oil while the rest of the room was decorated using fresco techniques.

Photos taken with ultraviolet and infrared rays confirmed the suspicion of scholars. Two oil paintings show more advanced techniques than the rest. Under the eyes of experts, this is one of the reasons for asserting that the author is Raphael.

Master mark

Restorer Vatican Fabio Piacentini said that this work shows Raphael's mark.'This is reflected in the brush movement, even the sophistication of using the brush to create small hairs,' Piacentini explained.

Raphael also created unusual shades of color that gradually revealed during the cleaning process. In addition, there are no signs that the class draws sketches below the two characters. This indicates Raphael's mastery of talent compared to younger hand painters without drawing sketches.

The head of the Vatican Museum Barbara Jatta said the restoration of the two paintings and the entire room will last at least until 2022. 'In addition, this is one of the most important projects of the past decades to be carried out. at the Vatican Museum ' , she said.

Raphael's mural.(Photo: Creative Commons).

Although there seems to be no other masterpieces hidden on the Vatican walls, the museum's restorers and scholars keep their eyes on it.'That's a great thing in every project. We are still searching non-stop , "said Jatta.

The restoration of Raphael's two newly discovered paintings and the rest of the Vatican Constantine Hall will be completed in 2022 at a cost of 2.7 million euros (about US $ 3.1 million).

The director of Vatican Museum Barbara Jatta said most of the expenses have been funded by the New York branch of the Vatican Art Sponsors. Sponsors are a group of special donors, mainly from the US, Europe and a growing part of Asia, supporting the restoration of Vatican art works.

'We have an annual treaty book on important projects being carried out. We share ideas with them , 'said Barbara Jatta.

Individuals can become members of the Vatican Art Sponsor Association for an annual fee of $ 600. Thereby, they can contribute to special restoration projects in the Wish Book of the Vatican Museum, while contributing to the restoration and protection of the cultural heritage of the Vatican and the world.