. Zuffi – författare

In the sixteenth century, the humanist values and admiration for classical antiquity that marked the early Renaissance spread from Italy throughout the rest of the continent, resulting in the development of a number of local artistic styles in other countries. Artists were highly valued and richly compensated during this period, with many receiving lucrative commissions from papal, royal, and private patrons. Among the sixty artists whose works are presented in this volume are towering figures of Western art, such as Michelangelo, Raphael, El Greco, and Titian. Venetian painters led the way, as oil on canvas supplanted fresco as the most popular medium. Italian Mannerists, such as Pontormo, deviated from classical forms, creating figures with elongated proportions and exaggerated poses. In countries that experienced the Protestant Reformation, such as England, many artists turned to portraiture and other secular subjects. This second volume in the "Art through the Centuries" series is divided into three sections that discuss the important people, concepts, and artistic centres of this innovative period.Important facts are summarized in the margins of each entry, and key facets of the illustrations are identified and discussed. New in the "Art Through the Centuries" series, it contains 400 full colour illustrations.

In viewing the great works of sacred Western art, many people find difficulty in understanding the stories and identifying the figures portrayed in them. This informative guide decodes these often-mysterious scenes and reveals a vibrant world of images from the Christian tradition for museum visitors, students and art enthusiasts alike. "Gospel Figures in Art" examines depictions of stories and figures from both the New Testament's canonical gospels (the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and the apocryphal gospels (early Christian writings excluded from the New Testament because of their unsubstantiated authorship). Both groups of texts served as rich sources of inspiration for medieval and Renaissance artists. Illustrated with masterpieces from many of the world's premier museums, the art works provided as visual references are carefully analysed. Sections are devoted to the principal figures in the life of Jesus Christ - his family and the evangelists - and to the major biographical turning points: his birth and baptism, his public life, the miracles and good deeds he performed, his crucifixion, resurrection and the events that followed.This resource makes the icons and narratives of sacred art come to life.

Influenced by a revival of interest in Greco-Roman ideals and sponsored by a newly prosperous merchant class, fifteenth-century artists produced works of astonishingly innovative content and technique. The International Gothic style of painting, still popular at the beginning of the century, was giving way to the influence of Early Netherlandish Flemish masters such as Jan van Eyck, who emphasized narrative and the complex use of light for symbolic meaning. Patrons favoured paintings in oil and on wooden panels for works ranging from large, hinged altarpieces to small, increasingly lifelike portraits. This beautifully illustrated guide analyzes the most important people, places, and concepts of this early Renaissance period, whose explosion of creativity was to spread throughout Europe in the sixteenth century. Divided into three sections, the first examines key terms, including: styles, concepts, and techniques; the second looks at four regions - Northern and Central Europe, France and Flanders, The Western Mediterranean, and Italy - and key cities within each area; and the third section highlights approximately fifty individual artists.Important facts are called out in the margins of each entry, and key elements are pointed out on each illustration.