During the cleaning and restoration of the Vatican Museum some clever eye noticed two interesting and beautiful paintings. Soon it turned out that these paintings belong to great Renaissance master ― Raphael.   The 500-year-old Vatican’s mystery has been finally solved. We finally know what happened with his work in one of the rooms in Vatican.  

Experts believe that discovered paintings are the latest works of Raphael. He probably painted them before he died, around the age of 37 (in 1520). These paintings were found at the banquet room, named The Hall of Constantine. Two paintings present two female figures. One of them represents the Justice and another one represents Friendship.  

Raphael's Justice, aroud 1520, fresco │ Source

What did they know about Raphael’s work at the Vatican? 

Raphael was invited to the Vatican by the new Pope Julius II to paint the frescoes in three rooms. People now like to call these rooms Raphael’s rooms (Stanze di Raffaello) and the frescoes inside of them are ones of the most famous paintings in Vatican. The Stanze, as they are commonly called, were originally intended as a suite of apartments for Pope. 

However, what was more interesting was question about forth room. Experts knew that he began work at one room more but those paintings have never been found. Until now. 

Raphael started to paint that fourth room around the year 1519, but he died before he could finish the painting. He finished only two frescoes. When he died some other painters finished his work and two frescoes of the great master were forgotten. 

How did they discover that the two of paintings in The Hall of Constantine are Raphael’s work?     

Raphael started to use another technique, different from the traditional fresco technique. He used oil for his paintings and that two frescoes were the only frescoes in the room made by this kind of technique. Other painters used some other ways of painting. Ultraviolet and infrared photos confirmed that.  

Even the brushwork confirms that the Raphael painted these frescoes. Experts realized that the way of paintbrush movements matches up to Raphael’s way of painting. He also used to make specific shades of color. Other paintings in the room were painted in a different way. It was obvious that they don’t belong to the same painter. 

    

Self-portrait of Raphael, around 1506, oil on panel │Source

 What about the first room?   

The first room was The Room of the Signature (Stanza della Segnatura) and its purpose was to be a library of Pope Julius II. The frescoes from that room are very valued and they are showing four areas of the human knowledge: religion, philosophy, poetry and low.

One of the most famous frescoes is Disputation of the Sacrament (La disputa del sacramento). It was painted between 1509 and 1510 and it was one of Raphael’s first works in Vatican. On this painting he wanted to connect earth and heaven. On the topside we can see the Christ with other various biblical figures (Blessed Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, Moses, Adam, Jacob, etc.) God the Father is above the Jesus and the Holy Spirit is below the feet of Christ. At the bottom of the painting there are a lot of important people of Renaissance. They are having a discussion about Transubstantiation (belief that vine and bred at the Mass becoming a real blood and body of Christ). One of those figures is Dante Alighieri, famous Italian writer. He is on the right side of the painting and Raphael showed his head with laurel wreath. 

            

 Disputation of Holy Sacrament, around 1509-10, fresco  │ Source

This room is also famous by others paintings. One of them is The School of Athens (Scuola di Atene). It was painted between 1509 and 1511 and it took the place in the opposite wall of the Disputation of the Sacrament. The name of the painting refers to the Philosophical School of Ancient Greece. At the center there are philosophers Plato and Aristotle. It’s interesting that Plato points with his hand up to the sky and Aristotle points at the ground. That is because Plato believed that this world is just a shadow of one more important world ― the world of ideas. That world exists like something eternal and the true, real beauty and wisdom are settled in there. The Aristotle didn’t agree with him. He believed that reality is something only from this world and because of that he points with his hand to this world. The people of Renaissance believed that Ancient Greece was the cradle of European civilization and philosophy. For Raphael that was very important. 

      

 School of Athens, in 1511, fresco │Source

The Parnassus is the third fresco from this room. Raphael finished it somewhere between 1509 and 1510. It shows Mount Parnassus, place of the god of light and poetry ― Apollo. He is sitting and playing an instrument and he is surrounded by the muses, who are inspiratinal goddesses of literature, science and the arts. At the same painting Raphael showed Homer, Virgil, Ariosto, Sappho, Dante Alighieri, and Giovanni Boccaccio  

  The Parnassus, between 1509 and 1510, fresco  │ Source

The forth part of The Room of the Signature is the fresco named The Cardinal and Theological Virtues. Raphael painted it in 1511 and it allegorically represents Fortitude (a woman with oak branch), Prudence (a woman with two faces, looking at the mirror) and Temperance (a woman with reins in her hand). All three of them are followed by the cupids. First cupid symbolizes Charity and he is shaking the oak brunch. The second one is the Hope and he is holding a flaming torch. Third cupid is Faith. He is nearby Temperance and he points with his right hand at the sky.

    Cardinal and Theological Virtues, in 1511, fresco  │Source

The second room

The second room is The Room of the Fire in Borgo (Stanza dell'incendio del Borgo). This room was music room of Pope Leo X. The main painting is The Fire in the Borgo and it shows Pope Leo IV making a cross in the air to extinguish the fire in the Borgo. However, experts believe that Raphael didn’t paint this fresco. Probably the painting was work of his assistants. The other tree paintings in the room are: The Coronation of Charlemagne by Leo III, The Oath of Leo III and The Battle of Ostia. They are made by Raphael’s assistants without his help. 

The Fire in Borgo, in 1514, fresco │Source

Third room  

Room of Heliodorus (Stanza di Eliodoro) was painted between 1511 and 1514. Probably it was an audience room. The most famous painting is The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple and the room got its name from this fresco. This painting illustrates one biblical scene. It shows Heliodorus who got the order from the king of Syria to take a treasure from the Temple in Jerusalem. He failed because God protected the temple and sent a horseman to push him out.

The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple, between 1511 and 1512, fresco │  Source 

The Mass at Bolsena is another fresco from this room. Raphael painted famous scene of miracle in Bolsena. The priest doubted the doctrine of Transubstantiation. During the mass the bread started to bleed and the miracle showed him that bread is the body of Christ for real. One of the most interesting things about this fresco is that artist wanted to show his own face on it. One of the Swiss Guard from the bottom of the painting looks exactly like him.   

Third fresco is The Meeting of Leo the Great and Attila. It shows meeting between Pope and Attila the Hun. It is interesting that Pope Leo I first had the face of Pope Julius, but Raphael had to change it because of Julius’s successor, Leo X. 

The Meeting of Leo the Great and Attila, in 1514, fresco │ Source

The Room of Heliodorus is decorated with one fresco more. Deliverance of Saint Peter depicts liberation of Saint Peter. It has three scenes. In the scene at the middle we see that Peter is in the jail and he is sleeping. An angel is standing nearby him and wakes him up. The scene on the right side shows how angel guides Peter while the guards sleep. The scene on the left side shows guard who noticed light in Peter’s cell.

Who can know what is hidden between the walls of Vatican? 

Raphael was one of the greatest artists of Renaissance. His works are ones of the most precious paintings in Vatican. Unfortunately, he had really short life. He died at the age of 37 and he couldn’t finish his work. Who can know what he would create more if he would live long enough? Or maybe early death didn’t prevent him to give us his best works? Maybe Vatican’s walls hide more secrets? Is it possible that the great maestro left something more for us during his short life? Some beautiful painting maybe is still waiting to be discovered.