Raphael
Raphael was enormously productive, running an unusually large workshop and, despite his death at 37, leaving a large body of work. Many of his works are found in the Vatican Palace, where the frescoed Raphael Rooms were the central, and the largest, work of his career. The best known work is "The School of Athens" in the Vatican Stanza della Segnatura. After his early years in Rome much of his work was executed by his workshop from his drawings, with considerable loss of quality. He was extremely influential in his lifetime, though outside Rome his work was mostly known from his collaborative printmaking.
Adoration of the Shepherds (Raphael)
Although there are indications that this drawing could be Raphael's design, additional study is needed. The active composition of the design is very different from designs of the period. It can be argued that this design is related to the "Raphael Rooms" in the Vatican, as some of the compositions in the "Adoration of the Shepherds" occur in those compositions. It can also be argued that many of the features of this drawing belong to the traits of the early 16th century. Raphael used a goldfinch perched in the tree in "Madonna and the goldfinch," currently in the Uffizi Gallery and dated to 1505-1506. However, after the early 16th century Raphael did not appear to use the goldfinch again. Details of the composition including the fully kneeling shepherd, the second shepherd stepping in, the active Joseph, and the Virgin with her hand on her bosom, became common in depictions of the "Adoration of the Shepherds" later in the 16th and 17th centuries.