All of Raphael's most important paintings as well as a significant number of his drawings and engravings are reproduced, principally in color, in this splendid new tribute to one of the most admired artists of the Italian Renaissance.

In this lavishly illustrated book featuring some 300 illustrations, the author takes a fresh, critical look at the life and work of Rafaello Sanzio, or, as he signed certain paintings, Raphael Urbinas--in homage to his native city of Urbino. Described as "an artist touched by grace," Raphael is considered along with Michelangelo and Leonardo to be one of the greatest painters of the Italian Renaissance.

Raphael (1483-1520), whose birth and death were on a Good Friday, belonged to a family of merchants; aside from his training in the studio of Perugino, little is known about his earliest years. He arrived in Florence in 1504, where he studied the masters: Masaccio, Ghirlandaio, Leonardo and produced magnificent paintings of the Madonna as well as remarkable portraits; in 1508 he went to Rome, where he died a dozen years later at the height of his powers, after creating monumental works at the Vatican. At thirty years of age, he was, in the eyes of his contemporaries, a living legend. In his Lives of the Artists, Vasari wrote: " While we may term other works paintings, those of Raphael are living things, the flesh palpitates, the breath comes and goes, every organ lives, life pulsates everywhere."

In a fascinating text De Vecchi reexamines each of the major periods of Raphael's short career dispelling the myths about him that have accumulated over the centuries. He reminds us that the most "profound" element of Raphael's art was his striving to express in his work the dialectic between earthly and heavenly love, which was an important concern of his contemporaries The coverage of the text extends beyond the paintings to Raphael's significant work as an architect and designer of interiors. The reference material in the Appendix includes a chronology and a bibliography.

Other details: Approximately 300 full-color illustrations