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For introductory college-level courses in art history that include a survey of Italian Renaissance art. It may also appeal to the general reader interested in art history, especially the Renaissance.This text combines a discussion of history and art as it focuses on the smaller courts of Mantua, Ferrara, Naples, and Urbino that produced an extraordinary amount of great art. The book presents the work created there as the culmination of the desire of princes and dukes wishing to show the world their magnificence as rulers and their virtue as leaders of culture. ... Read more

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The Italian Renaissance was one of the most extraordinary periods in the history of Western art, and art lovers from around the world are captivated by the treasures that are held in Italian museums, churches, and galleries. This guide introduces art lovers to the major artists and sights of the Renaissance in a series of art trails-itineraries that cover the most important paintings and sculptures of the period. Written in a friendly, informative style, it is designed for the traveler who is serious-but not stuffy-about art. Not only does it give specialized coverage of the best in Italian Renaissance art, but it will save the traveler the expense of purchasing numerous gallery guides.

The guide features:

-Coverage of background of the Renaissance and its cultural context-Brief biographies of individual artists-Expert knowledge presented in a friendly, informative style-Details and descriptions of the outstanding pieces at every site-Interesting critical descriptions of works and explanations of technical terms-Maps highlighting places to visit, including intercity routes -Diagrams of important series of paintings (such as the Sistine Chapel)-Information on the saints and Biblical scenes portrayed in the paintings

Meeting the needs of a market that has hitherto been ignored, this delightful guide will entertain and inform the seasoned cultural traveler as well as the amateur art buff. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Art for Travellers Demystifys Complex Subject
I approached this book with some trepidation, since the Renaissance art of Italy is an enormous subject and all but the most intrepid travelers succumb at some point to museum fatigue. However, I was delighted to see that this guide givesvery readable background information suitable for people with very little prior exposure to Renaissance art. At the same time it is authoritative and interesting for someone with a deeper knowledge. The fact that the author narrows down the focus to a shorter list of painters and sculptors is very helpful. The illustrations are beautiful. Diagrams of where to find particular works in particular museums, or how to "read" multiple panels in churches can be useful.My only concern is that the book weighs in a bit heavy for a traveler who is packing light. While I would like to have the book with me as a companion while walking through museums, I may have to content myself with notes or (gasp!) cut out pages of particular interest to take with me.

Artfor Travellers ; Italy


It is a very good guide for the amateur, even more remarkable considering that it was written by Australians.
I am an Italain national myself living in Hawaii for the time being and I know that I will put this guide to good use when I eventually decide to rediscover my own country.
Highly recommended. ... Read more

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This lovely book details the activities of the leading artists of Florence during the 1470s, when Lorenzo de`Medici and his allies were cultivating the visual arts as an important means of asserting influence. The book discusses the art of Andrea Verrocchio, Antonio and Piero Pollaiuolo, Sandro Botticelli, and Filippino Lippi; the competition and collaboration among them; and the religious, political, and social contexts of their work. ... Read more

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The most up-to-date and complete text on Italian Renaissance art and its artists yet published, with over 400 illustrations, 215 in color.This introductory text on Italian Renaissance art and the artists who made it by the author of "A History of Western Art" and "Art Across Time" focuses on the most important and innovative artists and their principal works. The emphasis is on selectivity and understanding, and minor artists will be considered only briefly when relevant to the major artistic developments. The text also focuses on style and iconography, and on art and artists incorporating different methodological approaches to create a wider understanding and appreciation of art. Italian Renaissance Art contains over 400 illustrations, of which 215 are in full color integrated with the text and large enough to be properly viewed. There are also maps, plans and diagrams where appropriate. Painting, sculpture, and architecture are covered. The book contains a glossary, historical chronology, selected bibliography and index as well.This introductory text on Italian Renaissance art and the artists who made it by the author of A History of Western Art and Art Across Time focuses on the most important and innovative artists and their principal works. The emphasis is on selectivity and understanding, and minor artists will be considered only briefly when relevant to the major artistic developments. The text also focuses on style and iconography, and on art and artists incorporating different methodological approaches to create a wider understanding and appreciation of the art. The book contains over 400 illustrations, of which 215 are in full color integrated with the text and large enough to be properly viewed. There are also maps, plans and diagrams when appropriate. Painting, sculpture, and architecture are covered.The text begins with the late Byzantine work of Cimabue and continues into the Renaissance precursors of the fourteenth century: Giotto, Duccio, Simone Martini, the Lorenzetti. The context of early humanism and the role of Petrarch is also discussed. The artistic backlash after the plague of 1348 follows and the work of Orcagna and Andrea da Firenze. The Quattrocento, with Masaccio, Donatello, and Brunelleschi in Florence, is a particularly rich century and in-depth consideration of major artists and their works is only possible if well organized and focused. The text concludes with the High Renaissance and the transition to Mannerism with Michelangelo, Bramante, and Raphael in Rome,Leonardo in Milan and Titian in Venice..Throughout the text boxed asides contain descriptions of artistic media and techniques as well as discussions of background information necessary to the study of Renaissance art. Aside from the major artistic centers of Florence, Rome and Venice the text covers artistic developments in Siena, Rimini, Pienza,Umbria, the Marches, Naples, Verona, Ferrara, Mantua and other locations. The book contains a glossary, historical chronology, selected bibliography and index.

"A clearly written, straightforward account of the story of Italian Renaissance art from its origins to Mannerism. The bulk of the material centers around central Italian painting, as it should, but other important, smaller centers are also included. The discussion of the various art forms is nicely balanced.... I especially liked the sidebars which add necessary material--historical, literary, technical and so forth--to the text without encumbering it.... This is a very good book which should furnish us with the new anduseable text we have been waiting for. I would certainly use it in my classroom." -Bruce Cole, Distinguished Professor, Chairman, department of the history of art, Indiana University ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Italian Renaissance Art reviewed
as a college book it is a very good source of info i highly recommend it.

Shallow Survey
Be advised that this is a dry, very shallow textbook. A reader is not going to gain any perspective from a book that allows 3 paragraphs to the Medici who were great patrons of the arts. It is one thing if you are required to buy this for a class. On the other hand, if you wish to learn about the Renaissance and Renaissance art, I would suggest beginning with MagnificoMagnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici which is a very enjoyable biography about Lorenzo De' Medici which will provide the reader with a good cast of characters and from there, I would use Amazon's search engine and choose a couple of individual artists who might appeal to you. Personal suggestions would include Brunelleschi, Donatello, Masaccio, Ghiberti, Fra Angelico and Fra Fillipo Lippi. There is also a very good DVD series,Treasures of Sacred Art: Tuscan Journeys which is available on Netflix.

good book
nice book, very easy to read and enjoyable.this is a text book for a class of mine and its very interesting.

Love the renaissance but...
I love the italian renaissance, but didn't find this book very helpful.This book is very juvenile and is written as a college level book, but the writing is more about elementary/middle school level.This is not just a book to read for enjoyment or gives much insight into the renaissance.There's plenty of books that have great insight that you can just read, and there's many books that are head and shoulders above this book for a course curriculum.

Great Book!
I had to buy this book for class, and I'm glad I did. Very comprehensive, great illustrations with interesting side notes. Highly recommend. ... Read more

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The seminal work, originally published in two separate clothbound volumes, is now made available in a revised one-volume edition, both in hardback and in paperback. It brings to light an aesthetic passage of European history which has never before received full-scale treatment in English. It explains, monumentum of a magnificent movement of German art, and shows, through this powerful and expressive art, how religion and political ideaology were interwined in Ottonian culture from about 950 to 1050. Besides dealing with the great imperial books such as the Gospels of Otto III and the Pericopes Book of Henry II, as well as other splendid liturgical manuscripts, the author also writes with penetrating insight about the great art-loving bishops such as Egbert of Trier and Bernard of Hildesheim, whose aims and personalities are expressed in the books they commissioned. In addition, the most important art centres of the Ottonian Empire - Reichenau, Cologne, Fulda and Corvey - are discussed in detail. ... Read more

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Disorganized and uninsightful
The book does not give an adequate survey of Renaissance Art - in fact, it is not about Renaissance Art at all - most of the book is devoted to pre- and early Renaissance art.Only the last chapter covers the High Renaissance and it is the shortest one in the book.Instead it rambles on and on through some key artists and leaves things at that.They do not describe at all what distinguishes a certain city or period fom another - instead they hone in on one or two paintings, yak about it for a while and leave the reader to infer what they mean. The very worst part is that most of the paintings they babble on and on about are not even plated in the book.Extremely diffuse and a grand waste of time and money. ... Read more

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Fruits and vegetables as erotic metaphors in still life paintings, the Florentine Baptistry replicated in sausage and cheese by Andrea del Sarto, a recipe for fish molded in the shape of a goat, the discovery of an Ovidian scene at the bottom of a soup bowl. A feast for the mind and eye, this beautifully illustrated, compellingly readable book is a rich exploration of the little examined interplay between art and cuisine during the Italian Renaissance. Exploring a dazzling array of art works, and drawing from period recipes and menus, John Varriano considers the many, often surprising, ways that cooks and artists converged and drew from each other's worlds. Among other topics, he considers the significance of culinary images in Renaissance art; traces parallels in the use of ingredients such as eggs and oil in kitchens and in studios; examines centerpieces by artists that were made of food; looks at the emergence of the celebrity cook and celebrity painter; and much more. Woven throughout with the flavors and colors of the era, this book of Renaissance temptations expands our understanding of the traditional boundaries of creative expression. ... Read more

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Successful merchants and Florence's most prominent patrons of the arts and sciences, the Medici family ruled the city from the fifteenth century until the mid-eighteenth century. This beautiful and authoritative book focuses on the glorious art produced during the height of the reign of the Medici dynasty.

Eminent authorities tell us that under the grand dukes Cosimo I, his sons Francesco I and Ferdinando I, and his grandson Cosimo II, Florence experienced a great flowering of the arts. The Medici dukes gave commissions to artists such as Pontormo, Bronzino, Vasari, Giambologna, and, in particular, Michelangelo, whose work overshadowed much of the city's cultural and artistic life at this time. The Medici used the buildings and works of art that resulted from their patronage as a means to promote and reflect their political and cultural aspirations within their native city and throughout Europe.

This handsome book will be the catalogue for the exhibition "Magnificenza!," opening in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi on June 6, 2002 that then moves to the Art Institute of Chicago (November 9, 2002 to February 2, 2003) and to the Detroit Institute of Arts (March 16, 2003 to June 8, 2003). ... Read more

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From a Critic
Library Journal
"This catalog for a show of 16th-century Florentine Renaissance art, which originated in Florence and traveled to Chicago and Detroit (ending June 8), demonstrates the power of art to enhance the prestige, politics, and propaganda of princes. Sculptors, painters, architects, and artisans heavily influenced by Michelangelo were eagerly sponsored by the Medici dynasty to build and decorate their palaces. As indicated in Adrian Randolph's Engaging Symbols, the Medici and other prominent Florentine families used art to influence popular and religious perception and opinions. This book, however, takes it one step further. Twelve scholarly essays show how the Medici were able to establish supremacy over not only the arts but the humanities, sciences, and theatrical spectacles important to the life of the city. The catalog contains 225 full-color plates, with detailed information on each item in the show, presenting a rare opportunity to see a vast array of late Renaissance and early Mannerist objects, from paintings and sculpture to tapestries, ceramics, and pietre dure (semiprecious stone inlay). While lacking an index, the work is fully footnoted and contains an extensive bibliography. Academic, museum, and large public libraries will want this good general overview of 16th-century Florentine culture."--Ellen Bates, New York Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

A 381-page, full-color catalogue, published by Yale University Press in association with the Detroit Institute of Arts. ... Read more

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For courses in Renaissance Art.Through close examination of Renaissance paintings, drawings, book illustrations, and other art works, Patricia Fortini Brown brings fourteenth and fifteenth century Venice alive. She explores the role of the guilds and the nobility, the unique island setting, the environment of the church and the private home, the political rivalries with other states, the taste for symbols and metaphors, the myriad qualities that made Venice distinct and its art unique. Carefully interweaving art-historical analysis of individual works (both famous and little-known) with rich contextual discussions, she reveals a culture of high beauty, artifice, and craftsmanship. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Art as a political and social tool
Patricia Brown's Art and Life in Renaissance Venice provides an interesting analysis of what made Venice artistically and politically different from the other Italian city-states.Brown argues that Venetian "otherness" made its art distinguishable from the art of other Renaissance states.Venice's political and social stability impacted the nature of both art and architecture. Venetian art reflected these and in so doing promoted traditional social and political attitudes.

The strength of Brown's work is the impressive artwork included in the text.The art is used quite convincingly by Brown to show how artists adapted to the demands of the Venetian public.

Fantastic !
This little paperback is packed with great information and great pictures.A must have for anyone interested in Renaissance Venice, it's well-organized and very easy to read.

well-written, readable work on High Venetian art
This book is a great introdcution to Venetian art of the Renaissance, through its views of the major artists of the time (the Bellinis, Titian, Pollaiuolo, Veronese, etc.), but it incorporates enough social, religious, and political history that one not only gets a more-well rounded view of the Venice of the Renaissance, but also is not bogged down in excessive stylistic analysis. This makes Brown's work a wonderful introduction to the Venetian novice, which many amateur art-historians caught up with Florence and Rome (myself included) tend to be. ... Read more

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In the first contemporary single-volume survey of the three arts of Venice--painting, sculpture, and architecture--Norbert Huse and Wolfgang Wolters offer an important counterbalance to the traditional orientation toward painting as the city's preeminent art by focusing on architecture as the essential Venetian art. They begin their study in 1460, when Venice was one of the key powers of Italy, and end with the death of Tintoretto in 1594, a period of waning international power. In the process, they define the distinctly Venetian terms by which the city and its culture should be understood.With over three hundred illustrations and an exhaustive bibliography, this volume makes an impressive contribution to art historical scholarship.

"The historical aspect of this book is splendid, but where it excels is in its fearless and thought-provoking critical judgements. . . . it will lead both beginners and experts to new joys."--David Ekserdjian, Times Literary Supplement ... Read more

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600 color illus. 10 3/4 x 12 1/2. ... Read more

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Again a richly-illustrated,well researched book by Konemann
A find of gold! Not mentioned the well-researched writings, the illustrations, presented in big size, printed with high quality, definitely are the merits for this coffee-table sized book to serve as a pictorial reference for art of the Renaissance, especially, for the sculpture part.This high-quality volume is a bargain. It should be one of the collectionon your book shelf if you find interest in classic works of art. ... Read more

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Artists like Botticelli, Holbein, Leonardo, Durer, and Michelangelo and works such as the Last Supper fresco and the monumental marble statue of David, are familiar symbols of the Renaissance. But who were these artists, why did they produce such memorable images, and how would their original beholders have viewed these objects? Was the Renaissance only about great masters and masterpieces, or were women artists and patrons also involved? And what about the "minor" pieces that Renaissance men and women would have encountered in homes, churches and civic spaces? This Very Short Introduction answers such questions by considering both famous and lesser-known artists, patrons, and works of art within the cultural and historical context of Renaissance Europe. The volume provides a broad cultural and historical context for some of the Renaissance's most famous artists and works of art. It also explores forgotten aspects of Renaissance art, such as objects made for the home and women as artists and patrons. Considering Renaissance art produced in both Northern and Southern Europe, rather than focusing on just one region, the book introduces readers to a variety of approaches to the study of Renaissance art, from social history to formal analysis. ... Read more

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A terrific introduction to Renaissance Art!
This book does what it says on the cover: provides a short introduction to Renaissance art. But unlike most books on the subject, it covers both Northern and Southern Europe. Very readable with interesting approaches to the subject, which is perfect for complete novices as well as more knowledgeable readers. ... Read more

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mind expanding and provocative
this book remains timely for the student of theology or one who wishes to expand the mind beyond the mundane . The art is beautifuleven if the premise is uncomfortable.FPB Ann Arbor

Theology of the Divine Phallus through Art
As a visitor enters the nave of the Episcopal church I attend, his gaze is immediately drawn to the stark pentagonal brick wall behind the raised altar, and to the large cross on it with a life-size statue of a crucified Jesus, naked except for the loin cloth about his hips to satisfy the normal decency criteria of the Church.Although we do know that crucifixion victims were stripped of all their clothing, and that the Bible specifically describes the Roman soldiers gambling for Jesus' garments, good taste forbids us to show Jesus naked.Yet there was a time when this was not true.

This book examines the Renaissance period (14th to 16th century) when artists presented Jesus either completely naked or covered by a simple loincloth that accentuated a rigidly erect member. Three hundred beautiful plates show this state of undress of both the baby Jesus and of the dying or resurrected Christ. What caused the artists to break the normal decency codes, asks the author, and he advances various theories to answer his own question.The first half of the book was written in 1983 and is divided into two parts: the main analysis and 39 excursuses (appendices to you and me) that amplify various points made.The second half was written thirteen years later and presents the author's newer thoughts plus a detailed refutation of the arguments put forth by his critics.

The paintings examined in the book relate to three periods of Jesus' life: his infancy, his baptism, and his crucifixion.Those depicting his infancy show a progressive diminution of worn apparel with passing time: in the 12th century Jesus is shown covered completely by a long philosopher's tunic; in 13th century paintings he appears in short child's dresses; and in the next two centuries he is painted either completely nude, or wearing short, sometimes see-through shifts, that are pulled up by either the baby or his mother to reveal his genitals, while the actions of the surrounding figures direct the viewer's attention to them. Whether it is Mary's mother poking at them (in Hans Baldung Grien's "Holy Family" 1511) or a magus staring at them intently (in Monticello's "Adoration of the Magi," c. 1470), or even the baby himself holding or pointing to them, these treatments of a baby's, let alone baby Jesus' genitals seem to transcend good taste.

Steinberg explains it as an effort by the painters to bring to the viewer's attention Jesus' full humanity, and to remind us that as a true Jew he shed his first blood for us during his circumcision. It is, "I, your Creator, have come to share your humanity"; or, "See how I have not delayed to pour out for you the price of my blood." The Magus's almost indecent examination is just an effort to certify the sex or the circumcision status of the child.St Anne's poking, in Grien's woodcut, is explained away as some type of the artist's preoccupation with fecundity and miracle-working spells.

The manner in which the adult Jesus was painted relates to the beliefs regarding original sin held by the Eastern Orthodox and the Western Catholic Churches.The Orthodox Churchbelieved that there was no sex in Paradise, and that there never would be. "God did not need marriage to fill the earth," preached St John Chrysostom. The Church maintained that Adam and Eve had been created sexless and it was only after they sinned that they were endowed with procreative organs.The author presents an 11th century Spanish drawing showing Adam acquiring a penis after he sinned.Since Jesus was not subject to the original sin, he resembled the original man having no genitalia.So this is how he was painted in Medieval times (12th and 13th centuries); during his baptism, or on the cross, he was shown naked and sexless. Since there were no sexual organs to give rise to feelings of shame these naked paintings of Jesus could be freely exhibited in and out of church.

In later years, the Catholic Church in the West was influenced by St. Augustine's theory of original sin. According to him Adam and Eve were created with all their genitalia intact, but after they sinned God punished them by removing from them conscious control of these organs.Instead of performing the procreative act in a calm and emotionless manner, they were now subject to the vicissitude of their lustful emotions; Adam could no longer control the erection status of his member.(Charitably the author did not mention St. Augustine's sexual history:as a young man in Africa he took a concubine and produced a son; then he turned to his childhood boyfriend Alypius; and finally moved to Rome where, with five other friends, he took a vow of celibacy, upon which his concubine took his son and left.)The question then became, how did this affect Jesus since he was not subject to original sin?

Michelangelo's response was "Risen Christ,"a work more resembling pagan Greek and Roman works than Christian Church statues, a completely nude Christ holding onto a cross.It seems, however, that Michelangelo was not very interested in this work since he had one of his pupils finish it. Even so, at least seven copies of it were produced during this period, but in all of them Christ was suitably covered.So why did Michelangelo produce such a statue?Before they sinned Adam and Eve had walked naked in the Garden without feeling shame.It was only after they sinned that they became ashamed of their private parts and covered themselves.By this reasoning, since Jesus was without sin he did not need to feel ashamed and cover himself. Most other paintings of the period, however, do not show this much frontal nudity.Although Christ's naked body may be shown removed from the cross, one of his hands is usually placed strategically to prevent exposure.This can be explained, argues Steinberg, by the common belief that a dying man often tends to place his hand on his groin.

Perhaps more shocking to the viewer are those paintings where the dead Christ's loincloth clearly shows a massive underlying erection.In the first part of the book, the author advanced various explanations for this practice:in pagan days the phallus was equated with power; in the Egyptian Osiris myth the erection and resurrection motifs werealmost combined. But by the time he wrote the second half of his book the author had come up with his Theory of Penile Erection.Since, according to St. Augustine, after the Fall man lost his ability to control this member of his body, what better way for a painter to show that Jesus is unaffected by the original sin than to depict him in control of his erections.And to dissociate it from any sexual involvement, and thus sin, these erections occur either after his death or during his infancy.

All in all this is a very interesting book that can be appreciated by even non-artistic types like me.It obviously contains much more that I have space to comment upon.The only thing that I failed to understand was another reviewer's description of breaking up with hilarity while reading it.Perhaps it is because I am neither an artist nor a trained theologian but, with the possible exception of Joos van Cleve's "Holy Family" where Joseph is portrayed reading a book with his spectacles on, I didn't see anything particularly funny in this book.

(The writer is the author of "Christianity without Fairy Tales: When Science and Religion Merge.")

Scandalous and brilliant
Several art historians of my acquaintance, experts in the period, say that this is the best art history book ever written. I'm not an expert, but I can say that it's terrific, and one of the few academic books that, at first reading, had me lying on my back on the floor with my feet in the air, laughing hysterically. Steinberg had the audacity to wonder, looking at a Renaissance painting, why is it that Jesus's male member is so, well, *prominent*? Instead of averting his eyes (which is what most of us would do) he started looking for other paintings with which to compare it, and lo and behold, he discovered lots of them where indeed the painter seems to be deliberately *accenting* a part of the anatomy which normally one would expect to be concealed. He concludes that the painters were trying to show that the son of God had become Incarnate as a man in the most literal sense. In that sense, what seems scandalous to us is simply a manifestation of Renaissance humanism.

Beyond the screamingly funny prose lies a serious argument, about the Renaissance, and the way to do art history. Finally, Steinberg teaches the reader's eye how to look at a painting. ... Read more

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Athens Vs Sparta
This book was purchased to compare paintings on sliding doors and screens in Korea compared to those in Japan. However the most interesting conclusion in this book is the direction Korea took in the renaissance period to become a lay society based on Chinese scholarship and to reduce the power of Buddhist temples and the military, becoming thus Athens vs Japan's Sparta. Too bad that many art works of the period no longer exist. ... Read more

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Kudos for Abrams and Stefano Zuffi!
What a fascinating art history book with hundreds of images and details of Renaissance paintings. Do not let the paperback description discourage you, the book is similiar to the new paperback format that Taschen Publishers have been using for years and I prefer it to the clumsy heavy hardback artbooks.
This book will inspire and greatly enlarge reader's knowledge of the Renaissance period and be enjoyable at the same time. Many of the artists and paintings profiled will surprise those readers only familiar with the mainstream artists of the Renaissance such as DaVinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. Did you know that large blonde Italian women were esteemed and painted during the Renaissance, check it out! ... Read more

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The Essential Guide To The Italian Renaissance!
Back in my days as an Art History major, I realized early on that you really DID need to know about the history and the culture that gave birth to the art of the Italian Renaissance. Often, after a lecture, I would race home to try and find out more about a particular painter or family that supported an artist. This book gave me PLENTY of much need information. I got to know who the major players were, had artistic terms clarified, and got neat biographical information about everyone from Clement VI to Palladio. This delightful book also covered music, diplomacy, the role of the church, and literature. It also has hundreds of illustrations. Of special note was the section concerning the status of women. With over 750 entries, it is perfect for the student and the scholar. ... Read more