Marguerite de PontyUPTOWN—In spring 2026, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art will present the most extensive U.S. exhibition ever dedicated to Raphael, according to Artnet, offering a broad, international showcase of his artistry. This landmark retrospective brings together over 200 works—including rarely loaned masterpieces—from across the globe.
The exhibition, titled Raphael: Sublime Poetry, will be the first comprehensive U.S. exhibition to explore the entirety of Raphael’s career, according to a press statement. Works will be arranged chronologically, tracing his journey from his early beginnings in Urbino through his significant Florentine period to his final years at the papal court in Rome.
Carmen C. Bambach, a specialist in Renaissance drawings and curator at The Met’s Department of Drawings and Prints, curated the exhibition after a seven-year planning effort. Bambach sees this as both an opportunity to deepen engagement with Raphael’s imagery and a platform to present his creative personality with new clarity.
The show will feature a rich array of Raphael’s works—from preparatory sketches to full-scale paintings, tapestries, and decorative pieces. Among these are: The Alba Madonna (ca. 1509–11) from the National Gallery of Art, paired with preparatory drawings from Lille, Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione (1514–16) from the Louvre, The Ecstasy of Saint Cecilia, and Lady with a Unicorn.
Running from 29 March to 28 June 2026, at The Met’s Fifth Avenue location (Gallery 899), Raphael: Sublime Poetry will invite visitors to follow an artist’s trajectory—from apprenticeship to the height of Renaissance genius—through works seldom displayed together.
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