Simultaneously, on the commission of the pope, Raphael decorated the Vatican with frescoes glorifying the Church and the papacy.
Bartolommeo learned from the younger artist the rules of perspective, in which he was so skilled, while Raphael owes to the frate the improvement in his colouring and handling of drapery, which was noticeable in the works he produced after their meeting.
He took as his secretary of state Cardinal Raphael p us x Merry del Val, a Spaniard of English birth and educa tion, well versed in diplomacy, but of well-known ultramontane tendencies.
He made Raphael custodian of the classical antiquities of Rome and the vicinity.
The miracle forms the subject of a celebrated fresco by Raphael in the Vatican.
