Raphael

Phaidon's classic illustrated monograph on Raphael, updated with an elegantly crafted design for today's burgeoning art aficionados.Reviving a much beloved group of artist monographs from the Phaidon archive, the new Phaidon Classics bring to life the fine craftsmanship and design of Phaidon books of the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Updated with a contemporary "classic" design, full color images and new introductions by leading specialists on the work of each artist, these elegantly crafted volumes revive the fine bookmaking of the first half of the twentieth century, making Phaidon Classics instant collectors' items.A magnificent study of Raphael (1438-1520), one of the greatest painters of the Italian Renaissance, whose brief career produced such masterpieces as The School of Athens and The Three Graces. The large-format images bring to life Raphael's radiant colors and brushwork in the religious paintings of the Madonna and saints, mythological paintings, and portraits ranging from Pope Julius II to Baldassare Castiglione.

"It wasn't until we saw these books in person that we were able to appreciate how sumptuous, smartly designed, and just plain sexy they are. Best of all are the illustrations. Each volume has 125 crisp and meticulous reproductions – the Van Gogh colors are ripe to the point of bursting." —Elle Decor"We forget, in our image-laden era, just how recent a phenomenon art books are, with their true-colour reproductions of both old and contemporary works of art. We also forget just how essential they are, not just for the pleasure of the general public, but as a source of inspiration for artists and to encourage new generations of collectors and art historians. One key factor in this progress was the founding of Phaidon Press in 1923... Last year Phaidon embarked on a major project to produce a new series of 'Phaidon Classics'... A major decision has been to update the selection of images and the catalogue notes, but to retain the original essays, adding instead a preface by a contemporary scholar. What you get, therefore, besides a beautiful book, is a fascinating dialogue between quite different styles of address to the art-loving audience. This is an astute move." —Apollo-magazine.com

William E Suida (1877-1959) was an Austrian art historian and Italian Renaissance and Baroque specialist. His bibliography includes works on Leonardo and his circle, Titian, Raphael, Bramante and other Florentine masters. Bette Talvacchia is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Art History at the University of Connecticut and author of Phaidon's monograph Raphael (2007).