THE MANY KILLERS OF RAPHAEL

July 2020, a study from the University of Milan “Bicocca” claims to have found the cause of Raphael’s death - Pneumonia, a disease which back then could not even be diagnosed. It was usually treated with bloodletting, a cure that not only was ineffective, but that might have even contributed to the artist’s death. In 1722, instead, physicians were sure that Raphael was killed by arsenic. In fact, when Raphael’s body was exhumed, it was in perfect condition, with almost no signs of decomposition, which led to think that he was poisoned. 

Well, if so, who did it and why? The first question is hard to answer to, as we have no evidence whatsoever. Yet, there are few suspects, as we will see.

Let us focus on the second question, instead. The famous love-making excesses of Raphael have always led to think that he died of syphilis. Indeed, he had chronic fever for weeks before passing away and it is a sign associated with this illness. It is also true that such excesses may also bring jealousy, other than venereal diseases. Moreover, since at the time it was common to use the poison to get rid of one’s rivals, we cannot rule out his several lovers as direct or indirect cause of his murder. Maybe some of them went mad with jealousy and killed him. Perhaps their betrayed partner sought a revenge. Similar stories can be found in relation to the death of Masaccio, Rosso Fiorentino and Fra Angelico - too unscrupulous lovers that incurred the deadly poison. Yet, that does not mean that we do not have to look for alternative scenarios. In fact, Raphael’s greatness triggered a totally different jealousy, as since he was a kid, his talent as an artist and an entrepreneur had always been beyond imagination. Raphael started running his workshop when still a kid and he soon began to have commissions and to learn how to handle them. His skills in making money for himself and those around him removed all the doubts raised by his young age. Once in Rome, it did not take him much to display his skills to the Pope and the richest patrons. He was admired and yet there lurked envy. In fact, many other painters far more experienced than him felt to be in a subordinate position to him, jealous because he was commissioned for all the most relevant works. We may already have an identikit of the killer now – Sebastiano del Piombo, and Transfiguration might have been his motive. This was an altarpiece that Cardinal Giulio De Medici - later Pope Clement VII – commissioned both to him and Raphael, and that started a competition between the two painters. Transfiguration is also the last and unfinished painting by Raphael, who worked on it until his death. When Raphael died, his body was laid under that very painting. Vasari tells us “the sight of his dead body and this living painting filled the soul of everyone looking on with grief”. Anyway, Sebastiano is not the only suspect - similar rumours lead to Giuliano da Sangallo, as he too might have had strong reasons to get rid of such an unbeatable rival.

Other hypothesises are linked to Raphael’s religion, as he was getting closer to Luther’s doctrine. Maybe he was poisoned because the Church did not like his choice, to the point to put him to silence. Surprisingly, even Pope Leo X – Raphael’s best patron and close friend – plays a role in this unsolved mystery. The Pope was not happy to pay the high fees of Raphael Urbinas – Raphael’s signature - so he might have turned to a killer to poison him. Either way, the satisfaction of Raphael’s killer lasted just the time to having him declared dead on Good Friday, 1520. Then, just like Christ, Raphael decided that the tomb was not his place and from that moment on he became immortal.

? 2020. Anna Maria Amato