Federico Barocci

Federico Barocci pays homage to this exceptional artist whose career in Rome was interrupted by illness. it is said that rivals attempted to poison him. Living in the isolation of his native Urbino, this retiring and timid personality contributed, thanks to his profoundly spiritual inspiration, to the aesthetic renewal of the Catholic Church at the time of the counter-Reformation. All too frequently overlooked, Barocci is one of the most original Italian artists of the late Renaissance. His remarkable sfumato, the graceful emotionalism of his figures and his delicious colouring heavily influenced painters of the baroque period. This beautifully illustrated monograph is written by Nicolas Turner, an independent art historian who has previously worked as Deputy Keeper in the British Museum, London and also as Curator of Drawings at the J. Paul Getty Centre, Los Angeles.