It seems that the famous Renaissance painter Raphael did not like the shape of his nose, so he replaced it with an improved version in his self-portrait.

This is what scientists at the University of Rome found, where they put a 3D structure of the Italian painter's face, using a plaster mask for his skull prepared in 1833.

That year, for the last time, the remains, believed to be the remains of Raphael, were exhumed by his contemporaries for striving for perfection in all of his work.

"It definitely made his nose look better. His nose (...) was a bit bigger," said Mattia Falcone, a professor of molecular biology at the university.

Raphael died in Rome in 1520 at the age of 37, likely after suffering pneumonia, and was buried in the Pantheon in Rome.

Raphael's self-portrait usually appears in the Uffici Gallery in Florence, but is now in Rome to participate in an exhibition marking the 500th anniversary of his death.

Raphael painted himself about 15 years before his death, and he was shaved at the time, and the painting shows a more hooked nose, and also appeared in other works in which Raphael himself painted.

The three-dimensional structure of Raphael's face gives a visualization of his appearance at a date closer to his death, when he was with a beard.