High Renaissance

Raphael's frescos in the Raphael Rooms of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, commissioned by Pope Julius II. The Creation of Adam, a scene from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling (c. 1508–1512), also commissioned by Pope Julius II. The Last Supper, mural painting by Leonardo da Vinci.

In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians state that the High Renaissance started between 1490 and 1500, and ended in 1520 with the death of Raphael, although some say the High Renaissance ended about 1525, or in 1527 with the Sack of Rome by the mutinous army of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, or about 1530.