Life and Times of Raphael

Rare among artists, Raphael achieved during his lifetime an almost universal recognition. In this illustrated portrait of the man and his times we see just how difficult was the task to be faced, in the brilliant world of Renaissance Italy. A follower of Perugino in his early years, Raphael was the junior by thirty years of Leonardo, the rival through circumstances of the volatile Michelangelo, and the successor at St Peter's of the great Bramante. These were just some of the men against whom the young Raphael was inevitably compared.