February 24, 1844 – December 19, 1931.
Lived, worked and died in Florence.
I have not found any information about his family or childhood.

Raffaello Sorbi graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in his native Florence in his youth, where he studied painting under the guidance of professor, historical painter and portraitist Antonio Ciseri, who had a great influence on the early work of the talented young artist.

“And already by the age of seventeen, Raffaello was one of the few artists who painted classical subjects inspired by the ruins of Pompeii and the history of Rome.

Such subjects were in great demand at that time among Europeans visiting Italy as tourists.
The young artist was also inspired by the eternal biblical theme.

In 1861, 17-year-old Sorbi won the Rome Prize in the competition at the Florentine Triennale with the painting “Corso Donati wounded by the Catalans in San Salvi in ​​Florence.”

Two years later, the young artist won the Rome Prize with the painting “Savonarola explaining the Bible to his friends.”
Later, the artist specialized in historical painting, depicting subjects from the history of the Middle Ages, the eighteenth century and imperial Rome.