Hailed by his contemporaries as “the divine painter,” Raphael Sanzio of Urbino (1483-1520) was one of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance. A contemporary of Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael was sought out by popes, kings and aristocrats to decorate their residences. Michael Collins’ new biography, Raphael’s World, portrays the era in which the divine painter lived. Born thirty years after the invention of the printing press and nine years before the discovery of the New World, Raphael harnessed the new techniques of printing and the riches which flowed from the Americas into Europe in the early 16th century. The political map of Europe was changing as Raphael painted for his wealthy patrons. Pope Julius II commissioned him to decorated his apartments at the Vatican while Pope Leo X appointed him architect of the new St. Peter’s which replaced the 1000 year old Constaintinian basilica. While Raphael painted the Apostolic Palace and designed tapestries to be hung in the Sistine Chapel, a German friar, Martin Luther was about to rend Christendom apart. Raphael’s World brings the reader into the ducal court of Urbino, and follows the young Raphael to Perugia where he studied in the studio of Perugino, to Florence where he saw Michaelangelo and Da Vinci at work, to Rome where he painted for popes and cardinals, as well as Agostino Chigi, one of the wealthiest patrons of the day. Based on contemporary documentation, Raphael’s World explores the complex era in which the artist flourished and introduces the reader to the fascinating panoply of patrons. The 500th anniversary of the death of Raphael occurs on 6 April 2020. There will be a number of events to celebrate the event, including the rare display of his Sistine tapestries and a symposium at the Vatican and other galleries around the world.

Another Fabulous Art History Thriller by the Bestselling Author of Oil and Marble, Featuring the Master of Renaissance Perfection: Raphael! Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling is one of the most iconic masterpieces of the Renaissance. Here, in Raphael, Painter in Rome, Storey tells of its creation as never before: through the eyes of Michelangelo’s fiercest rival—the young, beautiful, brilliant painter of perfection, Raphael. Orphaned at age eleven, Raphael is determined to keep the deathbed promise he made to his father: become the greatest artist in history. But to be the best, he must beat the best, the legendary sculptor of the David, Michelangelo Buonarroti. When Pope Julius II calls both artists down to Rome, they are pitted against each other: Michelangelo painting the Sistine Ceiling, while Raphael decorates the pope's private apartments. As Raphael strives toward perfection in paint, he battles internal demons: his desperate ambition, crippling fear of imperfection, and unshakable loneliness. Along the way, he conspires with cardinals, scrambles through the ruins of ancient Rome, and falls in love with a baker’s-daughter-turned-prostitute who becomes his muse. With its gorgeous writing, rich settings, endearing characters, and riveting plot, Raphael, Painter in Rome brings to vivid life these two Renaissance masters going head to head in the deadly halls of the Vatican.

An authoritative introduction to Raphael, one of the most influential painters in the history of art, written by the preeminent authority on the subject and informed by the latest research. For centuries, Raphael has been recognized as the supreme High Renaissance painter, with many considering him more versatile than Michelangelo and more prolific than his older contemporary Leonardo da Vinci. Though he died young at thirty-seven, Raphael’s example as a paragon of classicism dominated the academic tradition of European painting until the mid-nineteenth century. This comprehensive survey looks at the different social and regional contexts of Raphael’s work and all aspects of his artistic production. From early training in Urbino to travels across central Italy, particularly Florence, where he became a noted portraitist and painter of Madonnas, to engagement by the papal court, this volume covers all areas of the artist’s practice. Focus is also devoted to the second half of Raphael’s career, when he became the dominant artist in Rome—even ahead of Michelangelo—and as a sophisticate entrepreneur, was able to extend the range of his activities to that of architect, designer, pioneer archaeologist, and theoretician. A beautifully illustrated study with over 150 full-color reproductions of Raphael’s work, ranging from major masterpieces to lesser-known paintings and drawings from all periods; art historian Paul Joannides, one of the world’s leading experts on Raphael’s drawings, sheds new light on this seminal artist.

In the critical introduction to Part I, Ettore Camesasca sets off the unique qualities of Raphael's genius from the influences at work. The balance of the paintings of Raphael are reproduced in this volume, inviting every interested reader to follow Raphael's remarkable growth and development.

The selection of drawings demonstrates how Raphael created a specific mode of visual invention and persuasive communication through drawing. He used drawing both as conceptual art (including brainstorming sheets) and as a practice based on attentive observation (such as drawing from the posed model). Yet Raphael's drawings also reveal how the process of drawing in itself, with its gestural rhythms and spontaneity, can be a form of thought, generating new ideas. The Oxford exhibition will present drawings that span Raphael's entire career, encompassing many of his major projects and exploring his visual language from inventive ideas to full compositions. The extraordinary range of drawings by Raphael in the Ashmolean and the Albertina, enhanced by appropriate loans, will enable this exhibition to cast new light on this familiar artist, transforming our understanding of Raphael's art.

The riveting story of a museum director caught in a web of local and international intrigue while secretly pursuing a forgotten Renaissance painting-the Boston Raphael. On the eve of its centennial celebrations in 1969, the Boston MFA announced the acquisition of an unknown and uncatalogued painting attributed to Raphael. Boston's coup made headlines around the world. Soon, an Italian art sleuth began investigating the painting's export from Italy, challenging the museum's ownership. Simultaneously, experts on both sides of the Atlantic lined up to debate its very authenticity. The museums charismatic director, Perry T. Rathbone, faced the most challenging crossroads of his career. The Boston Raphael was a media sensation in its time, but the full story of the forces that converged on the museum and how they intersected with the challenges of the Sixties is now revealed in full detail by the director's daughter.

"From 1501 to 1505, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti both lived and worked in Florence. Leonardo was a charming, handsome fifty year-old at the peak of his career. Michelangelo was a temperamental sculptor in his mid-twenties, desperate to make a name for himself. The two despise each other."--Front jacket flap.