Rome, from the Vatican. Raffaelle, Accompanied by La Fornarina, Preparing his Pictures for the Decoration of the Loggia
- Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner
- Date: exhibited 1820
- Medium: Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions: support: 1772 x 3353 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is the *Rome, from the Vatican. Raffaelle, Accompanied by La Fornarina, Preparing his Pictures for the Decoration of the Loggia* by Joseph Mallord William Turner, painted in 1820. Turner, after his first trip to Rome, was mesmerised by the city’s light, architecture and the legacy of the High Renaissance. In this sweeping canvas he pays tribute to Raphael on the 300th anniversary of the master’s death, placing the artist himself in the foreground with his mistress, La Fornarina, looking up at the vaulted ceiling of the Loggia that Raphael and his students designed.
The composition pulls the viewer into the grandeur of the Vatican, the Loggia’s arches and the distant hills. The foreground is crowded with sketches and studies that highlight Raphael’s breadth—from fresco to landscape. Turner’s own brushwork captures the luminous atmosphere that he loved so much, while subtly blending his own ambition as a landscape painter with a reverence for classical form.
Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1820, the work later entered the national collection as part of the Turner Bequest in 1856. It has toured Europe, appearing in exhibitions in Rome, Ferrara, Edinburgh, Budapest and more, a testament to its enduring appeal.
See it in person
Rome, from the Vatican. Raffaelle, Accompanied by La Fornarina, Preparing his Pictures for the Decoration of the Loggia is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
