Raphael

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, or Raphael as he is more commonly known, was the golden boy of the High Renaissance. A true prodigy, he was managing his father's workshop by the time he was a teenager. While Michelangelo was known for his brooding nature, Raphael was a charming and affable artist who was apparently quite popular with the ladies. This rockstar of the Renaissance, who was entrusted with decorating the Pope's private apartments at just 25, ran a massive workshop with around 50 assistants. He was a painter, architect, poet, and even an archaeologist of sorts, tasked with preserving Rome's ancient ruins. Rumor has it that his insatiable passion wasn't just for art. One persistent and juicy rumor, courtesy of the original art historian and gossip columnist Giorgio Vasari, is that a night of excessive passion with his mistress led to a fever that ultimately caused his untimely death at 37. While likely an embellishment, it adds a certain flair to the legend of a man who lived fast, loved hard, and left behind a legacy of divine beauty.