Skip to main content

Primary sourcePainting1514-1517

The Fire in the Borgo

Raphael's workshop (design attributed to Raphael) · 1514-1517

A large fresco from Raphael's workshop in the Vatican showing Pope Leo IV miraculously halting a fire.

Raphael designed this fresco for Pope Leo X, though it was largely executed by his assistants, showing his delegated late production.

Ask Raphael about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Fresco-style painting in a curved arched frame showing a crowded city scene: on the left a fire blazes and people, some nude, carry children and climb a wall; in the center a mother with babies and others kneel and gesture; on the right women carry jars and a man bends over a basin. A classical building with columns stands behind.
Workshop of Raphael (design by Raphael, execution attributed to Giulio Romano), The Fire in the Borgo, 1514-1517. Vatican Museums.

About this source

What it is

Created by Raphael's workshop between 1514 and 1517, likely designed by Raphael but largely painted by his assistant Giulio Romano, this fresco decorates the Stanza dell'Incendio del Borgo in the Vatican. It depicts Pope Leo IV stopping a fire in 847 with a blessing from a balcony.

Why it matters

The painting shows chaotic scenes of people fleeing and fighting the fire, inspired partly by classical imagery such as Aeneas carrying his father. Critics across centuries have disagreed about its quality and authorship, with some crediting Raphael's design and others attributing the execution almost entirely to Giulio Romano. It illustrates how, later in his career, Raphael increasingly relied on assistants to carry out his large commissions.

Look closer

  • What makes this fresco different in style from Raphael's earlier, more unified works?
  • Why might historians disagree about how much of a painting Raphael actually painted himself?
  • How does the fresco use dramatic poses to show panic and rescue?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Raphael on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Raphael sources

Meet the AI Raphael →
Raphael's fresco The School of Athens: a large Renaissance hall with arched ceiling and statues, filled with robed philosophers and scholars gathered on steps and a tiled floor. Two central figures in red and blue robes walk toward the viewer.Painting

Secondary source

The School of Athens

Raphael · 1509-1511

Black and white engraved print on cream paper: an oval-framed profile portrait of a man with long wavy hair and a cloak collar, facing right, with a Latin inscription below reading RAPHAEL SANCTIVS URBINAS, ORTUS ANNO MCCCCLXXXIII, OBIT ROMAE ANNO MDXX.Painting

Secondary source

Portrait of Raphael Sanctive

Antonio Suntach

Interior of a palace room with a richly patterned marble mosaic floor. The walls and vaulted ceiling are covered in painted frescoes, including a large scene of figures in a classical hall on the right and a landscape scene on the left.Painting

Secondary source

Raphael Rooms: Sala di Costantino

Raphael · 1508-1524

Photograph of a lantern glass slide showing a vertical strip of Renaissance wall decoration with grotesque ornament: framed figure panels, medallions, and painted candelabra-like motifs. Labels read Raphael et atelier, Grotteschi (1515-9), Rome, Vatican, Loggie, and Université de Louvain.Photograph

Secondary source

Glass Slide of Raphael's Grotesques in the Vatican

Raphael · 1518-1519 (fresco); slide made 1839-1939

Painting of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child on clouds between green curtains, flanked by Saint Sixtus in gold robes on the left and Saint Barbara on the right, with two cherubs at the bottom.Painting

Primary source

Sistine Madonna

Raphael · c. 1513-1514

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Raphael now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions