The Raphael Affair

Iain Pears wrote two of my favourite literary novel. With the majestic Stone’s Fall, he essentially redefined the historical novel, while his The Dream of Scipio features three parallel storylines that seamlessly transcend a span of nearly two thousand years.

Before ascending to those lofty pinnacles of literary fiction, Pears had been an art historian and journalist, and he drew upon that background to write a series of highly entertaining crime novels set in and around the world of the fine arts in Italy. As a simple country boy, this is far from my own comfort area, most of my knowledge of great art having been garnered through the medium of biscuit tin lids or gift calendars, with a distant and hazy recollection of the odd school show more trip to a local gallery (generally conspicuous by their absence in North Leicestershire during my childhood). That could not matter less, however, as Pears is highly informative without ever seeming to preach to, or patronise, [‘Patronise! Now that’s a good word … and you used it correctly too.’] his readers.

In this first volume in the series, graduate student Jonathan Argyll has been on the trail of a missing Raphael. We tend to think of state restrictions on the export of items of national heritage as a relatively recent phenomenon, but it is a well-established trait. Argyll’s researches revolve around an attempt conspiracy during the eighteenth century to smuggle a Raphael owned by a noble, yet poverty stricken, Italian family out to a wealthy English purchaser. The particular modus operandi selected was to have the old master carefully varnished and then painted over by a lesser artist, with a view to subsequent delicate restoration by the new owners a few years later. Unfortunately, having succumbed to temptation to sidestep the regulations by underhand means, the prospective purchaser then found himself double-crossed, being fobbed off with a [perfectly charming yet relatively valueless painting by the lesser artist, while the disguised Raphael disappeared.

Argyll’s researches appear to have been vindicated when the painting he believes to be the missing and disguised Raphael is bought from under his nose just days before he can formally identify it. The purchaser, esteemed art dealer Edward Byrnes has the painting cleaned and what purports to be a hitherto unknown Raphael is duly discovered. It is eventually sold through one of the prominent London auction houses for a world record sum, being bought by the Italian government. But that is just the start of the fun, and a string of crimes is unleashed, stretching from an act of grotesque artistic vandalism to fraud and even murder. All of this is watched, initially with bemusement but then with growing concern and horror by General Bottando, head of Italy’s Art Theft Squad, and his glamorous and gifted assistant, Flavia di Stafano.

Written with an appealing lightness of touch, this is a highly entertaining crime novel, that blends valuable insight in to the foibles, peccadilloes and fragile egos of the art world with a perfectly plausible plot, a delightfully evocative Italian setting and some highly empathetic characters. show less

Jonathan Argyll, an Englishman in Rome, is arrested for breaking into a church. But he makes some wild claims about why he was at the church so Flavia di Stefano of the Italian National Art Theft Squad is sent to interrogates him. He tells her that he was at the Church to look for a painting which he believes, due to his art history studies, is covering a previously unknown work by one of Italy’s 16thCentury Masters: Raphael. When the painting goes missing from the church and turns up as the property of an English art dealer the world becomes engrossed by the possibility of a ‘new’ Raphael painting.

This is a fairly simple story but it’s very well told. It’s full of wonderful detail about Italy, the art world and how forgery show more scams work but there’s a decent plot, containing the requisite amount of red herrings and wrong turns, too. As is the way with cosies, there’s not too much focus on the nastier elements of crime and, instead, the reader gets taken on a romp through the madness of Italian politics and the outrageous things people will do in the name of art (or love) (or money). Silly scenes, such as the one where Flavia and Jonathan hide in a toilet for several hours, could be trite if not done well but here it was amusing.

The characters are charming. As well as Argyll, something of a bumbling though clever Englishman, and the sometimes-sarcastic, mostly hard-working Flaviathere’s the ’shade overweight’, coffee-loving Generale Taddeo Bottandowho is in charge of the Art Theft Squad. All of them are people you’d like to sit in a café with while sipping an espresso and discussing the meaning of life.

As with most cosy mysteries the success factor lies in a combination of vaguely plausible story, fun characters and a back drop that interests the reader. One of the reason I struggle to find cosy books I like is that many of the backdrops don’t interest me that much (so many seem to involve anthropomorphised cats and/or cooking) whereas The Raphael Affair’s focus on art history and Italy was a winning combination for me. If Donna Leon and Alexander McCall Smith wrote together I think the product would be something like this delightful book. show less

Jonathan Argyll is an enthusiastic English graduate student working on his doctorate in art history; he has almost tracked down what may be an unknown Raphael painting when another man, art dealer Edward Byrnes, beats him to it. The painting is greeted with ecstasy in Italy, where the national gallery is empowered to spend as much money as it takes to acquire the masterpiece. However, Jonathan has doubts about the authenticity of the painting, and when a terrible art crime is perpetrated, the Italian Art Theft Squad begins to investigate, carrying Jonathan along with them…. This is the first in a series about art historian Jonathan Argyll and art theft squad member Flavia di Stefano written by a journalist and art historian himself; I show more have all seven of the books in the series, having read them some decades ago and now returning to them for an enjoyable re-read. Jonathan and Flavia are interesting characters, having great enthusiasm for (especially Italian) art but approaching the subject from completely different perspectives, and the milieu of the wealthy world of art connoisseurs is unfamiliar and engaging. I’m glad to reacquaint myself with these works; recommended! show less

i never thought an engaging and clever detective mystery (as opposed to a thriller) can be built around something other than a dead body. well, there were a couple of people who died, but their deaths were not the puzzle. of course, art scams and theft are pretty combustible topics in themselves.

i never imagined iain pears could write a humorous piece. as compared to his somber 'instance at the fingerpost', which also had a central mystery (murder that time), this was positively mirthful.

packed in a tight 246 pages, this was fun and brilliant!

"The Raphael Affair" is the first book in a series having to do with art crimes. We are introduced to Jonathon Argyll, a hapless art history graduate student who discovers where a long-lost Raphael is located, only to have it disappear before he could verify it. Thus begins a tale of mysterious buyers, forgeries, arson and murders. It is an enjoyable mystery, especially if you are into the process of verifying Renaissance paintings and what goes into forging such a thing. It's not a particularly exciting story, but you can't help but root for the somewhat bumbling graduate student and the beautiful, but skeptical National Art Theft Squad assistant Flavia di Stefano.

Great fun!
The Raphael Affair is an audible freebie that is a cross between mystery and thriller. Set in Rome, the story revolves around the quest for a hidden Raphael painting. The protagonist, like the author, is an English art historian. In addition to an intriguing plot, Iain Pears entwines art history with a view of the machinations of Rome's art world. It's an edifying escape.

This was the first installment of what was to become Iain Pears' "Art History Mystery" series, of which, including this one, I've now read, um, 5 out of 7, I think. I really hope he does more in the series - there hasn't been a new one in 6 years, and it seems like Pears has been concentrating more on his 'serious' writing - which, if 'The Dream of Scipio' is to judge by, I don't enjoy as much. But - I've still got two more to go, before withdrawal really sets in!
I didn't really feel like my enjoyment of this story was spoiled by having already read later stories - rather, I was entertained by the younger and less experienced versions of the characters, and seeing how the author had initially introduced them (a couple of surprises!)
As show more always, Pears shows that he knows his art history, and, as I work in a museum, I found the depictions of museum politics quite amusing.
As far as the story goes - this mystery has to do with a young art history grad student who believes that he's discovered a long-lost secret - an unassuming work by a mediocre painter may hide beneath its layers of paint a masterpiece by Raphael. Howeve, a savvy dealer snatches the work virtually from under his nose, and soon enough trots out a Raphael, with enough fanfare to let it sell for an astounding price. But is the masterpiece real, or a clever fake? It may take General Bottando, of the Art Crimes Unit, and his young part-time assistant, Flavia, to figure it out show less