Born in the spring of 1483 in the Italian city of Urbino, Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino was to become one of the three great masters of High Renaissance art, along with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.
Orphaned at 11 years of age, Raphael went on to train under the artist Pietro Perugino. He received his first commission aged just 17 and by 1504 his talents were in great demand.
Raphael spent some time in Florence where he was influenced by the works of his contemporary Leonardo da Vinci, although in Rome another contemporary, Michelangelo, is said to have taken a dislike to the younger artist.
Raphael was still working on the piece when he died in 1520