Fire in the Borgo by Raphael was created in 1514. The painting is in Vatican Museums. The size of the work is base 670 cm and is made of fresco.
The dramatic event described in this fresco, from which the whole room takes its name (incendio meaning conflagration), is the fire in the Borgo, which took place in 847 during the reign of Leo IV. A vicious fire was threatening to destroy the Borgo, the district of Rome located between the Castel SantAngelo and St. Peters Basilica. In the foreground we see men, women, and children trying desperately to escape the flames by climbing over collapsing walls. On the right-hand side, women are bringing containers of water with which to extinguish the fire. The group of figures in the left foreground alludes to Aeneas, the mythical founder of Rome who carried his father, Anchises, out of burning Troy on his shoulder. (read more in raphaelpaintings.org)
About the Artist: Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance Raphael was born in the small but artistically significant central Italian city of Urbino in the Marche region. Most modern historians agree that Raphael at least worked as an assistant to Perugino from around 1500. Raphael led a “nomadic” life, working in various centres in Northern Italy, but spent a good deal of time in Florence, perhaps from about 1504. Although there is traditional reference to a “Florentine period” of about 1504–1508, he was possibly never a continuous resident there… read more
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