Paragons and Paragone – Van Eyck, Raphael, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Bernini

This title provides an intelligent and illuminating exploration of the rivalry that existed between the artists of the Renaissance & Baroque eras. The paragon - the notion of competition and rivalry among the arts - has been a topic of debate for centuries. It erupted with great force in the Renaissance: sculptors vying with painters for superiority, modern artists competing with the ancients, and painting challenging poetry. If the traces of this lively conversation are most evident in the literature, the remarkable scholarship presented here demonstrates how the paragone was rendered visible also in works of art. The essays on Renaissance and Baroque art reveal the paragone to be a crucial motive and key to the interpretation of some of the most celebrated works of art such as Van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece and Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica.