October - theme: Historical Fiction
Raphael, Painter in Rome by Stephanie Storey
It's occurred to me while reading this book that I might like historical fiction. That might sound odd but I've always had the opinion of that genre is fine but it's not for me. Well, this book might just have changed my mind. I loved it. It was fun and interesting and made me look up and appreciate some renaissance art I hadn't spend much time considering before.
Stephanie Storey's biography states that despite writing two books, she thinks of herself as an art historian not an author. I might disagree, this book is very well written, the words flow and it is easy to read. The characters all have their own distinct personality and I loved how she wrote Raphael. Apparently she used contemporary (to Raphael) sources to find out what he was like as a person as well as a painter and used this research to find Raphael's voice. He is cheeky and happy and competitive. He loves his art and he strives hard to be the best, to achieve perfection. He is almost the complete opposite of his rival Michaelangelo.
As Stephanie followed Raphael's life from when he was orphaned aged about 11 until his death at 36, she talks (as Raphael) of the art he is both seeing and working on himself. There is a companion website where each work is shown in order. I have learnt so much about Renaissance art from reading this and following along on the website. I could see the style slowly changing from the work of Raphaels master in Urbino to the peak of the high Renaissance of which Raphael was a star.
Alex and I visited the Vatican briefly on our honeymoon, but I'm now sorry to say we marched right through the Raphael rooms on our way to see the Sistine Chapel ceiling. I'm not sure I even hardly looked at those amazing frescos! I've studied them online now and I know where to look for the faces of people Raphael knew and where there were changes and in-jokes. Even more than the frescos, I loved his oil painting portraits and I would love to see some of them in person. Particularly the one of his girlfriend/wife La Fornarina or his portrait of the Cardinal Alidosi.