How Relevant Is Raphael? See 5 Contemporary Echoes of the Renaissance Paragon's Art

As one of the most lauded and recognizable painters of the High Renaissance, Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (better known as simply Raphael) is credited with laying much of the groundwork for the centuries of artistic inspiration and innovation that followed in his wake. Works like his School of Athens in the Vatican or Portrait of Pope Julius II have been studied by millions of art lovers the world over, and his influence, perhaps unsurprisingly, is still evident in the work of today’s artists. These 10 pieces, excerpted from Phaidon’shistorical monograph Raphaeland Artspace’s own inventory, show that the Old Master’s style and subject matter aren’t so different from his more modern followers.

HANGING WITH FRIENDS

Self-Portrait With a Friend, c.1518–19 by Raphael

Ma Griffe, 2012 by Meghan Boody

VERY IMPORTANT RELIGIOUS FIGURES

Portrait of a Cardinal, c.1510 by Raphael

Mrs. Claus, 1990 by Cindy Sherman

MADONNA FT. SPECIAL GUEST

The Virgin and Child (“The Bridgewater Madonna” ), c.1507 by Raphael 

Melinda with Child, Lombardi, Italy, 2004 by Steven Lyon

GRACES, THREE OF 'EM

The Three Graces, c.1504 by Raphael

The Three Graces, 2007 by Philip Pearlstein

SERIOUS PORTRAITS OF FAMOUS PEOPLE

Guidobaldo Da Montefeltro, c.1504 by Raphael 

Jean-Michel Basquiat, 2016 by John Grande