The Raphael Trail

Oct 7, 2024 2:28 PM

Author:Joanna Pitman

The Raphael Trail

Raphael's St George and the Dragon is the work of a genius - an exquisitely rendered vision of heroism and innocence by one of the greatest painters of all time. Yet the painting's creation is only the beginning of a fascinating story that spans centuries of power play and intrigue, taking in a cast of characters both colourful and terrifying.

For the young Raphael the painting was an expression of his growing talents and a crucial step in his ascent to the peak of the Renaissance art world. But for a succession of jealous owners it became a symbol of power and prestige. Painted in Italy, St George and the Dragon was sent to England as a gift for Henry VII in exchange for the prestigious knighthood of the Garter, art being traded for honour. The painting then mysteriously disappeared for a century before re-emerging as one of the key works in the great collection of art built up by Charles I, only to be sold when the collection was forcibly broken up after his execution.

When Catherine the Great, a monarch of enormous appetites - political, sexual and cultural - later heard the painting was again on the market, she dispatched the famous philosopher Diderot to add it to her vast collection at the Hermitage in Russia. Treated both as an icon and as a Western masterpiece, St George and the Dragon survived fire and the Russian Revolution, only to be sold by the arch-Communist Stalin to Andrew Mellon, Capitalism's chief priest and one of the last US Robber Barons, in a secret and utterly illicit transaction.

Exceptionally written and breathlessly paced, The Raphael Trail shows how the greatest beauty in art can provoke the basest instincts in man.

Reviews

Enthralling piece of detective work...Pitman offers a pithy and chilling insight into the mind of this precocious artist

—— The Times

Fascinating

—— Nigel Farndale , Daily Telegraph

Art history for the general reader comes no more stylishly packaged than this ... All the characters leap out of the page, and provenance has never been so exciting

—— Country Life

Joanna Pitman tells us something we already suspect to be true, and she does it beautifully

—— Spectator

Riveting ... Provocative ... Travelling undercover, this brunette produced a book which, like its subject, is wonderfully enlightening

—— Allison Pearson , Daily Telegraph

I defy anyone not to enjoy it ... It is well written, has pace and intrigues the reader ... Hugely entertaining

—— Evening Standard

A busy and eventful voyage round Schamaland.. a one-man babble of erudition and wild enthusiasms

—— Elizabeth Grice , Daily Telegraph

Historian Simon Schama is man of broad interests, making this diverse collection of reviews, speeches and interviews well worth reading

—— Simon Shaw , Daily Mail

Ranging from Scorsese to soufflé Schama is a damn marvel

—— Independent

Lively and provocative... This book is a delight

—— Herald

Richardson, a magisterial writer, brilliant critic and deliriously funny raconteur, is a unique, dazzling match for his subject

—— Financial Times

A colossal undertaking that has taken almost his whole life and will enrich yours forever

—— The Spectator

[It] will be on many an art lover's Christmas list this year.

—— Mary Lussiana , Country & Town House

Fond and faintly disturbing.

—— Nicky Haslam , Spectator

A rattlingly readable effort... Greig does a fine job revealing tales one suspects the artist may have wished to keep private.

—— Alastair Smart , Telegraph

Anybody with an ear for a good story, never mind an eye for fine art, will be beguiled.

—— Hephzibah Anderson , Mail on Sunday

Greig's fascinating, intimate biography of Lucian Freud was a revelation. Every question I had about Freud – from the aesthetic to the intrusively gossipy – was answered with great candour and judiciousness… Wry, dry and completely beguiling.

—— William Boyd , Guardian

[Greig’s] perceptive observations and eagle’s eye for detail immediately drew me in.

—— Rebecca Wallersteiner , Vantage

The Freud who emerges in this account is a slippery figure, not only for journalists who tried to explain him but also for his intimates.

—— New Yorker

Mr Greig's is a compelling portrait of a complete amoralist who became a monstre sacré.

—— The Economist

Greig’s portrait glimmers with his eye for the telling detail.

—— Robert Collins , Sunday Times

A mesmerising book, seamlessly crafted, totally absorbing, and impossible to put down.

—— The Tablet

A very readable and enjoyable book, full of salacious detail of the artist and his fascinating life.

—— Julia Weiner , Jewish Chronicle

This intimate biography of Lucian Freud spares no blushes in its account of one of Britain's greatest painters, tracing his life and work through candid revelations about his views on art, relationships and family.

—— Charlotte Mullins , Art Quarterly

Building up brush stroke by brush stroke, Greig has produced a three-dimensional study of equal candour. Part demon, part genius, it is an absorbing portrait of the complexity of a strange human character.

—— Peter Lewis , Daily Mail

An unapologetic mixture of intelligent perception and high gossip... It is, overall, more revealing than anything about [Freud] yet written.

—— Frances Spalding , Guardian

I am captivated by this fascinating memoir... It's an extraordinary read.

—— Barbara Taylor Bradford , Daily Mail

Candid and intelligent.

—— Spear's

A gripping, page-turning vision of Lucian Freud that penetrates deep into the artist's private life.

—— Sunday Times Online

Utterly engrossing and lavishly illustrated

—— Mail on Sunday

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