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Reconstruction of Raphael's face solves centuries-old mystery of Renaissance artist's tomb

The 3D facial reconstruction of the artist Raphael - AFP
The 3D facial reconstruction of the artist Raphael - AFP

Scientists say they have proven once and for all that a skeleton interred in the Pantheon in Rome is that of the Renaissance genius Raphael.

They have made a 3D reconstruction of the artist’s face from the plaster cast of a skull that was dug up with other remains in the early 19th century.

There was uncertainty as to whether the skull really belonged to Raphael because when it was exhumed, it was found with other skeletons and bones, some of them belonging to his students.

The scientists say they have now solved the mystery because the reconstructed face closely matches contemporary portraits and self-portraits of Raphael.

“The research provides, for the first time, concrete proof that the skeleton exhumed from the Pantheon in 1833 belongs to Raphael," said Olga Rickards, an expert in molecular anthropology from Tor Vergata University in Rome.

An exhibition of Raphael's art in Dresden - Shutterstock
An exhibition of Raphael's art in Dresden - Shutterstock

The Pantheon is a huge former Roman temple in the city’s historic centre that was converted in the 7th century AD into a church and holds the remains of two kings of Italy – Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I.

“There’s no doubt about the result. It looks nothing like the students we know are buried there, and it would be too much of a coincidence for a stranger to look so similar,” Mattia Falconi, a molecular biology expert, told AFP.

"The 3D model shows the eyes and mouth (in the portraits) are his, but he has been kind to himself about his nose," he said.

"We know that Raphael often painted himself younger than his years, and this model allows us to see him as he really was".

The discovery comes as Italy commemorates the 500th anniversary since Raphael’s death with a series of events and exhibitions.

Scientists now want to subject Raphael’s remains to DNA testing to determine other details about how he looked, including the colour of his hair and eyes.

Born in Urbino in 1483, Raffaello Sanzio – Raphael in English – was said to have displayed extraordinary talent by the age of 17 and became one of the leading figures of the Renaissance.

Summoned to Rome by Pope Julius II, he was so celebrated that he was known as “the prince of painters”.

Many of Raphael's works are held in the Vatican Museums - AP
Many of Raphael's works are held in the Vatican Museums - AP

He died in 1520 on his 37th birthday, with rumours that his death was caused by a night of overly vigorous sex or by an attack of syphilis.

Last month, however, scholars from a university in Milan suggested that in fact he died from a bout of pneumonia, compounded by a medical error.

Researchers from the University of Milan-Bicocca said Raphael caught a fever but failed to tell doctors that he had been visiting lovers on freezing cold nights.

Instead of treating him for pneumonia, they diagnosed an "excess of humours" and prescribed blood-letting with leeches, which fatally weakened him, said medical historian Michele Augusto Riva.