Raphael: The Life of a Genius

On the 500th anniversary of Raphael's death, this handsomely illustrated volume looks at his life, his art, and his genius. Raphael was an artist ahead of his time, both as a painter and in the way he managed his studio: he acted as an entrepreneur, creating a modern organisation with an excellent group of collaborators. His inventions and ideas spread widely, thanks to engravings and woodcuts. So, even in his lifetime, Raphael gained renown with critics and collectors. This magnificent study of the great master, written by an expert historiographer who has curated exhibitions of Raphael's art, explores the full range of his work - from his altar pieces, to the stunning frescos in the Vatican Rooms, to the narratives in the Vatican Loggias, to his tapestries for the Sistine Chapel - often with detailed closeups and preliminary sketches and studies. It also delves into Raphael's life, the myth of the painter protected and promoted by the Academia Raffaello, and his influence on the Italian and European artists who followed in his wake. The images of Raphael's work include: Little Angel: a detail from the Sistine Madonna, The Marriage of the Virgin, The Three Graces, The Deposition, The School of Athens, Freeing of St. Peter, Madonna of the Chair, The Fire in the Borgo, The Coronation of Charlemagne, and The Transfiguration.