Renaissance Art in France: The Invention of Classicism

by Henri Zerner

Harvard professor Zerner focuses on one of the most dynamic and flamboyant periods in art history, the Renaissance in France. Renaissance Art in France explains how the school of Fontainebleau, in its exaggerated elegance and complex fantasies, combined French forms of medieval origin with the Italianate decorative style. It quickly came to represent a high point in the development of Mannerism and laid the groundwork for the invention of French Classicism. The volume showcases artists who excelled in the fine arts such as court portraitist François Clouet and sculptor Jean Goujon, as well as those working in decorative arts that also flourished during this tapestry, stained-glass windows, printmaking, and metalwork. With beautiful illustrations and an accessible text, it is all summed up here in one compact volume.

Genres: Renaissance, Art History, Art, History

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only realized after having already purchased this book at my favorite Parisian bookseller (Abbey Books on rue de la Parcheminerie, tell Brian that Fino set you!) that this book was a translation from French. Nonetheless, it is very well translated and serves as a fantastic companion to Blunt's classic Art and Architecture in France, 1500–1700. This one focuses on the influences of the Italian Renaissance on the French 16th century but on how despite Rosso and Primaticcio's work at Fontainbleau, it evolved on entirely French lines into a new classicism. The chapters about 'Bleau, the Cousins, the Clouets, and the Louvre were all excellent and full of insight. This is a readable art history for those who are trying to bridge the gap between the high gothic art in France represented by our cathedrals and tapestries and the incredible 17th century with Poussin (and in Holland Rubens). I admit that I feel a certain lacune for all the works that we have lost in the intervening 5 centuries, but that is all water under the bridge. I think that Zerner's research is excellent.

[Scarlett Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

6.5/10 - Dense but interesting and comprehensive if a bit traditional in some aspects. It is most useful when looking to see an overview of the 20th c. scholarship on the topics summed up and for a highly detailed assessment of individual artworks and rooms in Fontainebleau. It does shy away from moving into areas like social history, feminism and so on, tending to stick more closely to defining the styles of the artists, explaining the iconology of their artwork and trying to untangle the varied previous conclusions about the artworks discussed.