Raphael, Painter and Architect in Rome

Book excerpt: - Fully illustrated guide to Raphael's masterpieces in the Vatican, Rome's museums, galleries, and churches- Includes Raphael's built architecture and his projects (for St. Peter, etc.)- The concise texts are up to date with the latest research on the artist and the findings deriving from recent conservation work- The Letter to Leo X, co-written by Raphael and Baldassar Castiglione, the author of The Courtesan, is also discussed; it is one of the first texts in history on the need to protect and preserve ancient monumentsRaphael arrived in Rome in 1508 and remained there until his death in 1520, working as painter and architect for popes Julius II and Leo X and for the most prestigious patrons. Here the artist changed his painting style several times, looking at the works of Michelangelo, Sebastiano del Piombo and the vast repertoire of ancient painting and sculpture. In the Eternal City Raphael practiced architecture for the first time, designing buildings that reflected the models of Antiquity such as the Pantheon, the descriptions deriving from written sources such as Vitruvius' treaty on architecture, and the examples of modern architects like Donato Bramante. This guide supplies essential and up to date information on all the civil or religious buildings designed or built by Raphael in Rome, and the frescoes and paintings, housed in churches or museums, whether executed in the city or arrived there at a later stage.