Craving pleasure as well as knowledge, Raphael Sanzio was quick\nto realize that his talent would only be truly appreciated in the\nliberal, carefree and extravagantly sensual atmosphere of Rome\nduring its golden age under Julius II and Leo X. Arriving in the\ncity in 1508 at the age of twenty-five, he was entranced and\nseduced by life at the papal court and within a few months had\nemerged as the most brilliant star in its intellectual firmament.\nHis art achieved a natural grace that was totally uninhibited and\nfree from subjection. His death, at just thirty-seven, plunged the\ncity into the kind of despair that follows the passing of an\nesteemed and much loved prince. In this major new biography Antonio\nForcellino retraces the meteoric arc of Raphael’s career by\nre-examining contemporary documents and accounts and interpreting\nthe artist’s works with the eye of an expert art restorer.\nRaphael’s paintings are vividly described and placed in their\nhistorical context. Forcellino analyses Raphael’s techniques for\nproducing the large frescos for which he is so famous, examines his\nworking practices and his organization of what was a new kind of\nartistic workshop, and shows how his female portraits expressed and\nconveyed a new attitude to women. This rich and nuanced account\ncasts aside the misconceptions passed on by those critics who\npersistently tried to undermine Raphael’s mythical status, enabling\none of the greatest artists of all time to re-emerge fully as both\nman and artist.

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