Vatican City Pope Francis 2 Euro

History

2 Euro 2020, KM# 531, Vatican City, Pope Francis, 500th Anniversary of Death of Raphael

2 Euro 2020, KM# 531, Vatican City, Pope Francis, 500th Anniversary of Death of Raphael, BU in coincard

2 Euro 2020, KM# 531, Vatican City, Pope Francis, 500th Anniversary of Death of Raphael, Proof in box

Obverse. Photo © Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Sales Office

Description

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (1483–1520), known as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur. Together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period.

Raphael was enormously productive, running an unusually large workshop and, despite his early death at 37, leaving a large body of work. Many of his works are found in the Vatican Palace, where the frescoed Raphael Rooms were the central, and the largest, work of his career. The best known work is The School of Athens in the Vatican Stanza della Segnatura. After his early years in Rome, much of his work was executed by his workshop from his drawings, with considerable loss of quality. He was extremely influential in his lifetime, though outside Rome his work was mostly known from his collaborative printmaking.

After his death, the influence of his great rival Michelangelo was more widespread until the 18th and 19th centuries, when Raphael's more serene and harmonious qualities were again regarded as the highest models. His career falls naturally into three phases and three styles, first described by Giorgio Vasari: his early years in Umbria, then a period of about four years (1504–1508) absorbing the artistic traditions of Florence, followed by his last hectic and triumphant twelve years in Rome, working for two Popes and their close associates.

Obverse	Deity (god, goddess etc.) Angel Person (actor, musician, painter etc.) Raphael Depicts the self-portrait of Raphael from the fresco The School of Athens on the left. In the centre-right the two angels from Sistine Madonna. The twelve stars of the European Union surround the design on the outer ring of the coin. The School of Athens (Italian: Scuola di Atene) is a fresco painted between 1509 and 1511 as a part of Raphael's commission to decorate the rooms now known as the Stanze di Raffaello, in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The painting is notable for its accurate perspective projection, which Raphael learned from Leonardo da Vinci (who is the central figure of this painting, representing Plato). The rebirth of Ancient Greek Philosophy and culture in Europe (along with Raphael‘s work) were inspired by Leonardo’s individual pursuits in theatre, engineering, optics, geometry, physiology, anatomy, history, architecture and art. The Sistine Madonna, also called the Madonna di San Sisto, is an oil painting. The painting was commissioned in 1512 by Pope Julius II for the church of San Sisto, Piacenza. The canvas was one of the last Madonnas painted by Raphael. The painting was moved to Dresden from 1754 and is well known for its influence in the German and Russian art scene. After World War II, it was relocated to Moscow for a decade before being returned to Germany. Artist: Daniela Longo Engraver: Silvia Petrassi RAFFAELLO SANZIO 1520 2020 CITTA’ DEL VATICANO R D. LONGO SP INC.
Reverse	Geography & astronomy Map A geographical map of Western Europe spans the outer ring and inner core on the right side of the coin. The inscription 2 EURO is superimposed over the map of Europe, with the numeral “2” located in an open field representing the eastern Atlantic Ocean. 12 stars are located on the right side of the outer ring, with six stars atop the map of Europe and six stars below it; six vertical stripes cut across the inner core of the coin, visually connecting the upper and lower star segments. Luc Luycx, a designer at the Royal Belgian Mint, designed the Euro’s common reverse; his initials, LL, are seen on the right side of the design, just under the “O” in “EURO.” 2 EURO LL
Edge	Reeded and lettered The sequence "2 ★" repeated six times alternately upright and inverted. 2 ★ 2 ★ 2 ★ 2 ★ 2 ★ 2 ★

2 Euro

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2020 Vatican City

500th Anniversary of Death of Raphael

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Pope Francis

KM# 531

Characteristics

Type	Commemorative Issue (Non-circulating)
Material	Bi-Metallic
Ring	Nickel Brass
Center	Cupronickel
Weight	8.5 g
Diameter	25.75 mm
Thickness	2.25 mm
Shape	round
Alignment	Medal
Mint	Italian State Mint and Polygraphic Institute (IPZS)