"This book is divided into two parts, the first comprises two chapters dealing with Karol Lanchkoronski and the fate of his collection, as well as wedding rituals in Renaissance Italy and the history of domestic painting. The second part, consisting of eight chapters, discusses the cassone panels and paintings derving from day beds--lettucci--and panelling of the walls--spalliere."--Back cover.
"This book introduces, for the first time in English, a fascinating yet strangely neglected aspect of Italian Renaissance art. During the quattrocento painting became more popular and probably more beautiful than at any time before or since. House interiors and furniture were painted with exotic stories and symbols, one of the most fashionable possessions in the grandest room in the palazzo being the painted cassone or marriage chest." /
Today we associate the Renaissance with painting, sculpture, and architecture—the “major” arts. Yet contemporaries often held the “minor” arts—gem-studded goldwork, richly embellished armor, splendid tapestries and embroideries, music, and ephemeral multi-media spectacles—in much higher esteem. Isabella d’Este, Marchesa of Mantua, was typical of the Italian nobility: she bequeathed to her children precious stone vases mounted in gold, engraved gems, ivories, and antique bronzes and marbles; her favorite ladies-in-waiting, by contrast, received mere paintings. Renaissance patrons and observers extolled finely wrought luxury artifacts for their exquisite craftsmanship and the symbolic capital of their components; paintings and sculptures in modest materials, although discussed by some literati, were of lesser consequence. This book endeavors to return to the mainstream material long marginalized as a result of historical and ideological biases of the intervening centuries. The author analyzes how luxury arts went from being lofty markers of ascendancy and discernment in the Renaissance to being dismissed as “decorative” or “minor” arts—extravagant trinkets of the rich unworthy of the status of Art. Then, by re-examining the objects themselves and their uses in their day, she shows how sumptuous creations constructed the world and taste of Renaissance women and men.
The Renaissance studiolo was a space devoted in theory to private reading. The most famous studiolo of all was that of Isabella d'Este, marchioness of Mantua. This work explores the function of the mythological image within a Renaissance culture of collectors.
"Many famous artworks of the Italian Renaissance were made to celebrate love, marriage, and family. They were the pinnacles of a tradition, dating from early in the era, of commemorating betrothals, marriages, and the birth of children by commissioning extraordinary objects - maiolica, glassware, jewels, textiles, paintings - that were often also exchanged as gifts. This volume is the first comprehensive survey of artworks arising from Renaissance rituals of love and marriage and makes a major contribution to our understanding of Renaissance art in its broader cultural context. The impressive range of works gathered in these pages extends from birth trays painted in the early fifteenth century to large canvases on mythological themes that Titian painted in the mid-1500s. Each work of art would have been recognized by contemporary viewers for its prescribed function within the private, domestic domain."--BOOK JACKET.
The outstanding Burke Collection of Italian miniatures, which is housed in Special Collections in the the Stanford University Libraries, has been built over more than twenty years and includes manuscript leaves, cuttings, and codices by many of the greatest Italian artists of the medieval and Renaissance periods. Works in the collection range in date from the 12th through the 16th centuries, and in them we see masterfully painted initials, borders, and miniatures that enhance our appreciation of the great skill that John Ruskin called ?writing made beautiful.?00Comprised of over 40 miniatures from 35 different artists representing 13 different regions of Italy, the collection is characterized by its astonishingly high quality. It includes works produced by the most renowned Italian illuminators, who are often also documented as painters. Artists from Florence and Siena are certainly the best represented in the Burke collection. These include masterpieces by Don Simone Camaldolese and Lorenzo Monaco of Florence, and Giovanni di Paolo and Pellegrino di Mariano of Siena. The collection equally underlines the range of styles achieved by Italian illuminators active in Emilia-Romana, where great interpreters of Giotto were active, such as Neri da Rimini, Tommaso da Modena, and Nicolò di Giacomo, as well as masterpieces of the Venetian school, such as works by Cristoforo Cortese and the Master of the Murano Gradual. Lombardy is represented by one of the notable specialists of late Gothic painting, the Olivetan Master. Among the many highlights, there is the incomparable and world-class Crucifixion of the Master of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Dosso Dossi has long been considered one of Renaissance Italy's most intriguing artists. Although a wealth of documents chronicles his life, he remains, in many ways, an enigma, and his art continues to be as elusive as it is compelling. In Dosso's Fate, leading scholars from a wide range of disciplines examine the social, intellectual, and historical contexts of his art, focusing on the development of new genres of painting, questions of style and chronology, the influence of courtly culture, and the work of his collaborators, as well as his visual and literary sources and his painting technique. The result is an important and original contribution not only to literature on Dosso Dossi but also to the study of cultural history in early modern Italy.
An exquisite collection of nearly 400 iconic, inspirational wedding photographs of royalty, models, artists, actors, musicians and designers who have appeared in Vogue through the magazine’s 120 year history. Showcasing the work of legendary photographers such as Cecil Beaton, Patrick Demarchelier, Jonathan Becker, Norma Jean Roy, Mario Testino, Irving Penn, Arthur Elgort, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, and Annie Leibovitz, Vogue Weddings will transport you to a myriad of romantic settings around the world, from storied castles, palaces, and cathedrals, to weddings by the sea or in the countryside. Here are the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in London; Sofia Coppola and Thomas Mars in Italy; Kate Moss and Jamie Hince in the Cotswolds; Lauren Bush and David Lauren at the RRL Ranch in Colorado; Marina Rust and Ian Connor in Maine; Lauren Davis and Andrés Santo Domingo in Cartagena, Colombia as well as such iconic photos as Bianca and Mick Jagger in the car after their wedding in St. Tropez. A chapter on models’ weddings includes portraits of Natalia Vodianova, Coco Rocha, Maggie Rizer, Stella Tennant, Lara Stone and Cindy Crawford among others in their own wedding dress choices. Vogue Weddings also features behind-the-scenes details from Hamish Bowles; personal wedding stories from Mario Testino, Plum Sykes, Marina Rust and Sarah Mower; and fashion portfolios created by the magazine’s editors of bridal photo shoots, many including couture.
The Vatican Library contains the richest collection of western manuscripts and early printed books in the world, and its holdings have both reflected and helped to shape the intellectual development of Europe. One of the central institutions of Italian Renaissance culture, it has served since its origin in the mid-fifteenth century as a center of research for topics as diverse as the early history of the city of Rome and the structure of the universe. This extraordinarily beautiful book which contains over 200 color illustrations, introduces the reader to the Vatican Library and examines in particular its development during the Renaissance. Distinguished scholars discuss the Library's holdings and the historical circumstances of its growth, presenting a fascinating cast of characters - popes, artists, collectors, scholars, and scientists - who influenced how the Library evolved. The authors examine subjects ranging from Renaissance humanism to Church relations with China and the Islamic world to the status of medicine and the life sciences in antiquity and during the Renaissance. Their essays are supported by a lavish display of maps, books, prints, and other examples of the Library's collection, including the Palatine Virgil (a fifth-century manuscript), a letter from King Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn, and an autographed poem by Petrarch. The book serves as the catalog for a major exhibition at the Library of Congress that presents a selection of the Vatican Library's magnificent treasures.
