Renaissance

by Andrew Graham-Dixon

The Renaissance was one of the great periods of creative and intellectual achievement. This "age of genius," from its origins in the thirteenth century to its zenith in sixteenth-century Rome, produced some of the most fascinating and dynamic artists of all time--Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, and Leonardo da Vinci. In his adventurous new book, lavishly illustrated with 125 color illustrations, acclaimed art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon takes a fresh look at this most exciting period in art history, challenging many of the myths and misconceptions surrounding the Renaissance.

The Italian scholars who first dreamed of a Renaissance wished to revive the spirit of classical antiquity after the darkness--as they saw it--of the medieval and Byzantine periods. Graham-Dixon argues, however, that the Renaissance represented a culmination rather than a complete rejection of those earlier influences. Starting in the Middle Ages with the impact of the Franciscan movement on painting in Italy, Graham-Dixon's reappraisal of the Renaissance takes us through the key moments of its development, focusing on the major artists and architects of the the Early Renaissance in Florence--Giotto, Masaccio, Donatello, and Brunelleschi; the Northern Renaissance--Dürer, Cranach, and Brueghel; Venice--Titian, Palladio, and Tintoretto; and the High Renaissance in Rome--Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Raphael.

Renaissance also outlines the historical context of this time of great social as well as artistic change. It reveals the social climate in which these artists the power struggles between the Renaissance rulers of the Italian city-states, the French invasions of Italy, the invention of printing, and the Protestant Reformation. Along with his vivid, highly original, and often extremely entertaining descriptions of the works themselves, Graham-Dixon not only reassesses but also brings to life one of the most glorious periods in history.

Genres: Art, History, Renaissance, Italy, Nonfiction, Art History, World History

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Andrew Graham-Dixon has presented six landmark series on art for the BBC, including the acclaimed A History of British Art, Renaissance and Art of Eternity, as well as numerous individual documentaries on art and artists. For more than twenty years he has published a weekly column on art, first in the Independent and, more recently, in the Sunday Telegraph. He has written a number of acclaimed books, on subjects ranging from medieval painting and sculpture to the art of the present, including Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane, Art: The Definitive Visual Guide, and Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel.

Reviews

[Monty Milne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful book and lavishly illustrated to boot. Don’t be put off by that fact that it is a BBC publication – not everything they produce is dross. This book caused a revolution in my thinking on Byzantine art, which I must admit I always thought of as a bit retrograde: the author’s analysis of the wonderful twelfth century frescoes at Nerezi in Northern Macedonia persuaded me otherwise.

There are so many delicious plums in here that I pluck out just a handful of those which gave me particular pleasure and food for thought.:

Mantegna is given high praise as the fifteenth century artist who above all meditated profoundly on the world of antiquity, and especially “the spiritual ambiguity of the Christian in love with ancient Rome.”

Leonardo da Vinci didn’t paint enough. His genius in the Mona Lisa, and the key to that mysterious expression, is that it is a study in time, because it captures the very moment a facial expression is in the moment of change – as suggested by the changing weather of the landscape beyond.

Pantormo has been unjustly neglected: there is a masterful analysis of his Entombment. His stepson Bronzino, by contrast, is enjoyably rubbished, especially his absurd Martyrdom of St Lawrence – “martyrdom enacted by ballet dancers.”

All of the analysis of individual paintings is astonishingly good in its fluency and brevity. Two examples that come to mind are Raphael’s “School of Athens” and Holbein’s “The Ambassadors”. These are both very familiar paintings which I have spent much time admiring (though I’ve only seen the Holbein for real). Graham-Dixon’s analysis of both paintings is fluent, masterful, and entirely convincing, and made me look at and think about both paintings in new ways. What an excellent book.

[aaron trowbridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delightfully portrayed overview of the Rennaissance, or, in Italian, rinascimento, literally rebirth, -- from its beginnings in Venice, influenced by the last bastion of classical thought in what was formerly the Eastern Roman Empire, to the reactionary end of artistic freedom promulgated by the catholic church at the Council of Trent -- brought to my attention many new and essential considerations for thinking about the "rebirth" of art in Europe. Franciscan piety, Da Vinci's over-perfectionism, Michaelangelo's audacity, and Holbein's oblique perspicuity ;), all exemplify a complex, entangled, confused -- as like the first moments after waking from a murky dream -- state of thought and emotion. The Italian word chiaroscuro, meaning light and shade, and used to describe the distinctive style of Da Vinci's paintings, comes to mind as representative.

[Martin Ridgway · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really not sure about this one. It seems a bit mannered in a way that would work (for AG-D) on TV but not in a book (I guess six chapters to mirror six episodes).
The illustrations are superb quality, that certainly helps.

[Roy McDine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated and interesting background to the painters and the period.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired by a visit to the National Gallery, I decided to find out some more about Renaissance Art, which is a topic I knew very little about. This is a brilliant introduction for the beginner, clearly explaining the origins of the Renaissance and covering all the major works and artists of the period. The illustrations are generally large, good quality and clearly explained. I found I was actually rushing home in the evenings so I could read more, very rare in a non-fiction book. I now feel inspired to continue learning more about this period.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent.