'The Raphael Affair.'

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The Raphael Affair by Iain Peters.
An art history thriller. Set amid the beauty of Italy this novel follows the quest of both Flavia di Stefano, an art theft officer and Jonathan Argyll, an art dealer as they attempt to uncover the whereabouts of a lost painting.
Argyll persues the concept that the painting is being concealed beneath another which is hanging in a church.On visiting the church the picture has vanished and is traced to a London art dealer who claims his find is a newly discovered Raphael.

In their attempt to solve the mystery Jonathan and Flavia are flung into the underground world of Fraud and politics.

'He bought a Correggio for a considerable amount of money, and hung it in the gallery. Then the whispers started.'
'A sizeable chunk of art history consists of unravelling other people's errors and substituting your own.'


They are taken on a journey from Italy and London , between which various picturesque parts of Italy are savoured. The scenery and architecture which is easily seen in the Italian landscape are descibed thoroughly.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book ,which I read as part of my

Art History Reading Challenge.

Comments

Lezlie said…
I liked this one, too, and will probably read another in the series for the challenge. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Lezlie
28 February 2009 at 21:11
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