Raphael at the Met

An Atlantic Culture review of "Raphael: Sublime Poetry" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (March 29–June 28, 2026), curated by Carmen C. Bambach after eight years of preparation. The exhibition is the first comprehensive international loan show of Raphael in the United States and assembles more than 200 works — over 170 by Raphael — drawn from the Louvre, Uffizi, Prado, Vatican Museums, and others, with sketches deliberately paired against the finished paintings, tapestries, and decorative arts so the working process is visible. The Atlantic's piece uses this once-in-a-lifetime gathering to ask what Raphael's pursuit of grace means at a moment of cultural exhaustion. Note: Atlantic blocked direct fetching; author and exact framing are unverified.