"It is hard to overstate Raphael's status in Rome -- he was a superstar. The distance separating them was like that which today would separate George Clooney and his cleaner."
I thought it was an odd comparison, too. Clooney is hardly a superstar....not even close to being in the same league as an artist such as Raphael!
Maybe the writer of the article has a "Clooney" fixation, huh?
How else would someone come up with something so inane! Yeesh!