Skip to main content

Primary sourcePaintingc. 1509-1511

The Parnassus

Raphael · c. 1509-1511

A fresco by Raphael showing Apollo, the Muses and famous poets, painted for the Pope's library in the Vatican.

Raphael painted this fresco himself as part of his major commission decorating the Pope's private rooms.

Ask Raphael about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Fresco in a lunette: Apollo plays a violin-like lyre on a green hilltop surrounded by laurel-crowned poets and muses, with Homer and others among figures in classical robes, under trees and blue sky. Two painted niches with doors are below.
Raphael, The Parnassus, c. 1509-1511. Vatican Museums.

About this source

What it is

The Parnassus is a fresco painted by Raphael in the Stanza della Segnatura, part of the Raphael Rooms in the Vatican Palace, commissioned by Pope Julius II. It was probably painted between 1509 and 1511, around the same time as Raphael's School of Athens, and shows Apollo on Mount Parnassus surrounded by the nine Muses and poets from antiquity and Raphael's own time, including Homer and Dante.

Why it matters

The fresco represents poetry as one of four areas of human knowledge decorating the room, alongside philosophy, religion and law. It shows how Raphael blended classical mythology with contemporary figures, and even borrowed the expression of the ancient sculpture Laocoön for his figure of Homer, revealing how Renaissance artists studied and reused classical art.

Look closer

  • Why might Raphael have mixed ancient poets with poets from his own era in the same scene?
  • What does the choice of Apollo and the Muses tell us about how poetry was understood at this time?
  • Why is there only one woman shown as a poet rather than a muse, and how is she identified?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Raphael and Dante Alighieri 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