Raphael (1483–1520) is considered the most important artist of the Italian High Renaissance, alongside Michelangelo and Leonardo. He created around one hundred paintings and numerous frescoes, including nine fresco cycles, with an unparalleled variety of subjects – from sensual female beauties, ancient myths, and portraits of wealthy Romans and ecclesiastical officials, to historical cycles and biblical scenes. He produced altarpieces and also designed tapestries for the Sistine Chapel, while supervising the construction of St. Peter's Basilica. His Sistine Madonna is one of the most reproduced religious paintings of all time.

Raphael was a tireless student, for whom there was no stagnation, nor repetition of tried solutions, but only the continual promotion of an inexhaustible imagination. He transformed his central theme, the visionary experience of divine grace, into visible artistic reality. His mature work in Rome, and especially the frescoes in the Vatican Palace, secured his place in art history. He was admired even during his lifetime as the most contemporary artist of his era, and Raphael's dominance prepared the ground for Mannerism and the Baroque era.

This XXL edition is the most comprehensive work ever published on Raphael. The volume includes a total of 112 paintings and all the frescoes, architectural works, and tapestries with numerous new photos and many details, as well as the most extensive catalog of the artist's works. A team of Raphael experts introduces the reader to the fascinating relationship between art and power in the High Renaissance.

Pages: 720, Publication Year: 0727, Dimensions: 29x29cm