This book will appeal not only to all students of Italian Renaissance painting but also to everyone interested in representational painting in general, for it offers a new perspective on the appreciation of works of art.
Oscillating between the majesty of the Greco-Byzantine tradition and the modernity predicted by Giotto, Early Italian Painting addresses the first important aesthetic movement that would lead to the Renaissance, the Italian Primitives. Trying new mediums and techniques, these revolutionary artists no longer painted frescos on walls, but created the first mobile paintings on wooden panels. The faces of the figures were painted to shock the spectator in order to emphasise the divinity of the character being represented. The bright gold leafed backgrounds were used to highlight the godliness of the subject. The elegance of both line and colour were combined to reinforce specific symbolic choices. Ultimately the Early Italian artists wished to make the invisible visible. In this magnificent book, the authors emphasise the importance that the rivalry between the Sienese and Florentine schools played in the evolution of art history. The reader will discover how the sacred began to take a more human form through these forgotten masterworks, opening a discrete but definitive door through the use of anthropomorphism, a technique that would be cherished by the Renaissance.
Drawing on the diverse efforts of scholars, dealers, and collectors, Galassi establishes here for the first time the coherence and significance of early outdoor painting in Italy. Building on this foundation, he explores in depth Corot's magnificent landscapes.
The rebirth of realistic representation in Italy around 1300 led to the materialization of a pictorial language which dominates global visual culture even today. This book offers the first comprehensive study of Italian meta-painting in the age of Giotto and sheds new light on the early modern and modern history of the phenomenon. The analysis of pictorial illusionism and reality effect together with the liturgical, narrative and typological role of images-within-images makes this work a pioneering contribution to visual studies and premodern Italian culture.
This volume presents Italian painting through specific themes, as well as by chronological and regional achievement. With approximately 300 colourplates, this large-format book contains devotional images, portraits, landscapes, allegorical paintings, genre scenes, still life arranements, and abstract compositions. Keith Christiansen is Curator of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. His introduction and twenty eight essays set out in history of Italian Painting and its lasting impact. His thoughtful presentation not only instructs but also delights the reader with anecdotal details and innovative visual connections. -- http://www.ebay.com.