From the French of EUGÈNE MUNTZ.
Edited by W. ARMSTRONG.
Illustrated with 155 Wood Engravings and 41 Full-Page Plates.
"We have already noticed at some length the original French edition of the important work of 'Raphael, his Life, Works, and Times,' of M. Muntz, the Librarian of the École des Beaux-Arts, and we are glad now to welcome an English translation. A translation is never quite the same thing as the original, but for those—and they are many—who prefer an English version of a book to a French one, this volume may be recommended as, on the whole, a sound and adequate rendering of M. Muntz's work. The type and paper are excellent, and the volume appears in a substantial Roxburgh binding, suitable to its bulk and in good taste. M. Muntz is a real authority on the history of Art, and is by no means to be ranked among the bookmakers, who abound in that department of literature; and his volume, while intended for popular reading as well as for students, is an advance on anything that has been done before in the biography of Raphael."—Times.
"This splendid work deserves a cordial welcome. Its paper, type, and engravings leave little to desire. It was a hazardous undertaking to represent the Madonnas of Raphael by wood engravings; and yet it has proved successful in no ordinary degree.... With regard to the literary portion of the work, we can say that it is accurate, catholic in tone, and written with admirable lucidity."—Daily News.
"The compendious and profusely illustrated volume forms a valuable addition to the history of art. Passavant's work on the subject, though excellent in its way, cannot be considered exhaustive, many important facts concerning the great master and those who influenced his career having been brought to light since it was written. The present work, accordingly, is not superfluous, and no man, probably, could have accomplished the task more successfully than M. Muntz, who, it should be mentioned, is the Librarian of the École des Beaux-Arts at Paris. Having diligently studied the documentary records of Italian history, and being familiar with the various Italian schools of painting, he is especially qualified for work of the kind. His book presents consequently a complete, and apparently trustworthy record of Raphael's career, from his birth in Urbino in 1483 to his premature death in Rome, thirty-seven years later, and in it may be clearly traced the progress and development of his art and the influences which modified it. The author's remarks moreover, on the works of Raphael and of the other painters he has occasion to mention are thoroughly critical and appreciative, and never dogmatically expressed. The illustrations, of which there are nearly two hundred, form a very important feature of the work; they include, besides engravings from nearly all Raphael's existing pictures, and views of the localities in which he sojourned, a considerable number of faithful copies of his original studies and drawings. These being accurate reproductions of the master's own handiwork, will be regarded with great interest by students of art, the more so that the originals of many of them are in private collections inaccessible to the public."—Globe.
"A work of such vast importance and interest as this cannot be adequately treated in the short scope of a notice like the present. It is so perfectly and elaborately carried out that a study of its pages can alone do it any degree of justice. M. Muntz has been enabled to correct in many notable particulars the great work of Passavant, and his biography of Raphael Sanzio is unquestionably the best in existence. The illustrations comprise nearly every work of importance by the master."—Whitehall Review.
"Taken altogether the volume is one of great merit, both literary and artistic.... Before we pass from it we must pay a tribute to the general excellence of the translation, which has all the spirit and vigour of an original work ... the vigorous and eloquent language of the original has, as a rule, been rendered with like vigour and eloquence, which make the present beautiful volume as pleasant to read as it is attractive to look at—thus fitting it alike for the library and the drawing-room."—John Bull.
London: CHAPMAN & HALL, Limited.