Michelangelo was his rival

One of these interesting facts about Raphael is about his rival - Michelangelo. Michelangelo had been hard at work for Pope Julius II for three years by the time Raphael arrived in Rome in 1508. Michelangelo, who was eight years Raphael's senior and had a more established profession, wound himself working next to the young upstart. The Pope's library in the Stanza Della Segnatura, the largest commission of Raphael's career, was given to him right away. Michelangelo was nearby, working on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, at the same time.

To Michelangelo's dismay, Raphael's painting style received a lot of attention and admiration. Michelangelo's perception that Raphael was artistically emulating him, generated a fierce artistic rivalry between the two. Raphael, in turn, depicted Michelangelo as the brooding philosopher Heraclitus at the School of Athens.

Michelangelo and Raphael were fierce rivals. They competed with one another for patrons, and the public and their contemporaries compared their paintings. Raphael was the more popular of the two due to his friendlier demeanor, and by 1513 he was snatching up all the top commissions. Raphael earned the moniker "the prince of painters" and rose to become one of the Renaissance's most well-known artists. Raphael's premature passing led to Michelangelo's influence growing, though. He even proclaimed, "Raphael learned everything he knew about art from me."