The illustrious painter Raphaël died of a… coronavirus

What did the illustrious Raphael succumb to, whose 500th anniversary of death is celebrated this year? A popular myth is that the painter died in 1520, at only 37, of syphilis after courting one lady too many. A new study devoted to the Renaissance master agrees today that he died of a completely different infection. This feverish Raphael, whose temperature was high and did not drop for days, suffered from "coronavirus-like disease", says a new study devoted to his death.

The fever that struck down the prolific painter and architect was treated by "the best doctors in Rome, sent by the pope" who feared losing this invaluable artist, says medical historian Michele Augusto Riva. But the famous patient omitted to speak to the doctors of his time about his "frequent night outings in the cold" to visit his lovers. "It was much colder in March at that time, and it is very likely that he had pneumonia," said the specialist.

Bloodletting that mortally weakened the master

Doctors diagnosed a fever caused by an "excess of moods" or blood and therefore carried out bleeding - via incisions or leeches - which mortally weakened the master, a child prodigy who was part of the magic trio of the time , with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.

"At that time, doctors were aware of the dangers of bleeding in the treatment of infectious diseases, but they acted on the basis of false information," said Michele Riva, who co-signed the study with three fellow researchers from the university. by Milan Bicocca. It was published this week in the journal Internal and Emergency Medicine, but it was prepared before the Covid-19 took over, particularly in northern Italy.

"A medical error and his own error"

"From what we know, Raphael died of a lung disease very similar to the coronavirus we know today," says the historian. “A medical error and his own error in not telling his story faithfully, contributed to the death of Raphael. "

Contemporary accounts of his death reveal that the painter's illness "lasted 15 days, Raphael being calm enough to put his affairs in order, confess his sins and receive the last sacraments", according to the study. She indicates that it was an acute illness, characterized by a high and continuous fever. “A recent sexually transmitted infection - like gonorrhea and syphilis - couldn't explain the incubation period. "" An acute manifestation of viral hepatitis could not be considered without jaundice and other signs of liver failure. No epidemic of typhus or plague was reported in the city of Rome at that time, "said the study.

Despite his untimely death, Raphael produced a large number of major works, a large part of which is in the Vatican, whose museums include several rooms filled with his frescoes, among the most visited by the public. Raphael was entitled to a grand funeral at the Vatican. His remains rest in the Pantheon in Rome, where a red rose adorns his grave throughout the year 2020 marking the half-millennium of his disappearance.