Two Ancient Raphael Paintings Discovered in the Vatican

They may have been his very last works, experts believe.

The disputation of the Holy sacrament, by Italian painter Raffaello Sanzio a.k.a Raphael 1483 - 1520. Fresco, 550 x 770 cm, 1509e1511. Stanza della Segnatura, Apostolic Palace, Vatican City Italy. (Photo by: Leemage/UIG via Getty Images)
The disputation of the Holy sacrament, by Italian painter Raffaello Sanzio a.k.a Raphael 1483 - 1520. Fresco, 550 x 770 cm, 1509e1511. Stanza della Segnatura, Apostolic Palace, Vatican City Italy. (Photo by: Leemage/UIG via Getty Images)
UIG via Getty Images

Two of Raphael’s paintings have been discovered inside the Vatican Museums, CNN is reporting. Believed by experts to have been painted around 1519 by the Renaissance master before he died at age 37, the paintings depict female figures and were found while a room was being cleaned and restored.

“Knowing these were probably the last things he painted, you almost feel the real presence of the maestro,” Fabio Piacentini, the Vatican’s chief restorer for the project, told CNN.

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