The Intellectual Life of the Early Renaissance Artist

by Francis Ames-Lewis

Ames-Lewis explores the ways in which painters and sculptors of the early Renaissance began to engage with intellectual questions, as they sought to elevate the craft of painting to a liberal art, like poetry. The cultural environment of the time was increasingly learned, and artists needed to develop their social and intellectual skills as well as artistic talents, which they did through contact with literary men and then by becoming writers - of poetry, biography, treatises and letters - themselves. It was over this period that the idea of the artist as a creative genius with an individual identity surfaced, and the author examines how changes in perception of the artist affected his output.

Genres: Art History, Art, History, Renaissance

304 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2000

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

--- "his desire to rise in society comes in his account of his attempt to learn the socially graceful art of dancing" (Ames-Lewis: 74)
--- "The horseman who rides out of a cloud at the top left is generally recognised as a conscious, inventive allusion to classical comment, notably in Lucretius, about the random shapes that clouds may take up." (Ames-Lewis: 268)
--- "The medium of engraving allowed him to distribute his publicity material, rather than to require a visit to his bottega for his work to be appreciated and evaluated. Finally, since he was in charge of choosing his own subject matter, he could when appropriate provide himself with a vehicle to show off his erudition. Works that can be distinguished as 'display pieces' show excellently therefore the developing aspirations of the Renaissance artist, both in demonstrating his artistic skills and his engagement with the intellectual and scholarly concerns of his peers the practitioners of the liberal arts." (Ames-Lewis: 270)

This book describes how Renaissance painters and sculptors tried to improve their status in Europe. This topic is not new but I found the book quite complete as far as ideas and examples are concerned.

In my opinion, the book should have included illustrations from the previous period and from ancient Rome/Greece. In that way the general reader would have understood the influences and changes to art during this period better. I was very surprised that the author did not make reference to how wrong Renaissance people were when they thought classical statue was colourless. However, the book corrects previous ideas, which is nice.

The book has given me the opportunity to know new paintings (Marco Zoppo's 'Virgin and Child with Angels' was one of my favourites) and a new way of looking at engravings. The book has also given me further criteria to judge an Italian painting from the Renaissance period. Despite the book trying to offer a general approach, it is focused on Italian art for the most part, which should have been stated explicitly in the book title or in the description on the back.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not such a good book to read when in bed with the flu but full of interesting ideas and some very good appropriate illustrations. A pretty straightforward approach to the material made the book readable and engaging.