Raphael's name, like that of Michelangelo, has always been the object of universal acclaim. The name of the latter evokes admiration for his superhuman genius and for his art, in which the suffering of a long and lonely life finds sublime expression. Raphael's praises on the other hand (and here we do not speak of Urbino, where he is the tutelary deity and where every year they commemorate him like a patron saint) are sung with the spontaneous sympathy of the human heart and he has acquired immense popularity. Thus, to define exceptional female beauty with special emphasis, popular language was the phrase "as beautiful as a Madonna by Raphael." It is a phrase that would seem banal if it were not so accurate in referring to a lofty idealized beauty that rises above any comparison with earthly beauty.