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Raphael, Painter in Rome by Stephanie Storey
3.0

Raphael, Painter in Rome by Stephanie Storey is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in late January.

First-person, charmingly Benigni-like, all-knowing narration that frames his life timelessly, its themes easily grasped by a modern reader. Raphael is bumblingly lucky, awestruck to be in the art world, under the constant shadow of Michaelangelo, and within the pressuring patronage of the Roman/Vatican Catholic Church. Later, the ending twists and darkens as the pressure becomes more unbearable to succeed and survive.