agostino chigi and raphael died within a month of each other.n 1521, the next year, leo x was dead, and with him, the hedonistic culture of their age. [bells ringing] the grand presentations of papal rome had masked the declining power of papal authority-- religious, political, and military. in 1527, italy was invaded by an imperial army from north of the alps. rome was sacked. pietro aretino described the traumatic events. "screams rose to high heaven. "doors were beaten in. "the whole population took to its heels, "weeping and trying to hide. "blood flowed over the pavements. "people were being slaughtered. the tortured shrieked. "prisoners begged for mercy. women tore their hair. "it was pitiful to see fire consuming gilded lodgers and painted palaces." michelangelo's last judgement, painted in the 1530s on the wall beneath the sistine ceiling, evokes a new mood of retribution. rome did revive, of course, and the papacy gained new strength

like isabella gardner, morgan identified with a renaissance predecessor, the great baer agostino chigi. morgan even installed in his study brocade wall-covering with chigi's coat-of-arms. morgan's taste inclined to the decorative arts. he liked small, finely wrought objects. nevertheless, like other american collectors he wanted a raphael madonna. in 1910 he purchased "the holy family," which he hoped would prove to be by raphael. this picture is now knowto be a copy, but morgan's importance as a collector of raphael should not be underestimated. he spent more than half his fortune on works of art and set the example that other collectors would follow. like mrs. gardner, morgan never succeeded in obtaining an autographed madonna by raphael. the first american to accomplish this was henry walters of baltimore. walters made a fortune consolidating railways and was reputed to be the richest man in the south. well-educated, well-traveled, cultivated, walters, like morgan, had a taste for precious objects. nevertheless, he felt it was important to include a raphael in his collection. in 190

like isabella gardner, morg identified with a renaissance predecessor, the great baer agostino chigi. morgan even installed in his study brocade wall-covering with chigi's coat-of-arms. morgan's taste inclined to the decorative arts. he liked small, finely wrought objects. nevertheless, like other american collectors he wanted a raphael madonna. in 1910 he purchased "the holy family," which he hoped would prove to be by raphael. this picture is now knowto be a copy, but morgan's importance as a collector of raphael should not be underestimated. he spent more than half his fortune on works of art and set the example that other collectors would follow. like mrs. gardner, morgan never succeeded in obtaining an autographed madonna by raphael. the first american to accomplish this was henry walters of baltimore. walters made a fortune consolidating railways and was reputed to be the richest man in the south. well-educated, well-traveled, cultivated, walters, like morgan, had a taste for precious objects. nevertheless, he felt it was important to include a raphael in his collection. in 1901