Customer Reviews

Art in Renaissance Italy: 1350-1500 (Oxford History of Art)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think the reader will get lost here and come away with a misapprehension about the times unless they already have a strong background in European history.

You really have to read this book critically because some parts are bizarre. I remember at one point the writer describes artists as being involved in several businesses, such as owning rental property, with the aim of providing for their retirement. While in individual cases, I am sure this was true, as a description of the role of artists in society I can't believe it is widely true in early modern society only beginning to develop a middle class. Who knows what is meant by "retirement" in an era when several generations of a family might live in the same house, and work work together in the same artists' workshop, and when average life expectancy was in the 30s and people could drop dead of blood poisoning at any time from a hangnail. That sounds like anachronism to me.

Welch has a point. Much of what we focus on in our understanding of Renaissance art is rooted in our looking at "genius" and exceptional works. Her point is that we should also look at continuity and commonalities among artists of this period in what is now called "Italy." That may be her agenda as a publishing academic, but for casual readers like myself, I have to admit to being rather bored by much of the detail in this book, which focuses a lot on contracts and workshop organizations. A bit of this seems like the story of the drunk looking for his keys under a streetlight. When asked where he dropped his keys, he points over to a dark part of the street, but the light is so much better over here! Welch is so busy with her contracts (many of which are quoted at length or even in full) that she forgets to tell us what we learn from them. As with all history, we rely heavily on the documents to tell our story. But the documents are not themselves the story we wish to learn. With art, we also have the work itself, which speaks to us from across time and geography. What strikes me as most odd about this book is the lack of actual discussion of the works. The book is beautifully illustrated and is part of a series that I've come to associate with quality. Usually, these books find the exact right balance between introducing novices to the period in question AND engaging us with the current debates and compelling ideas around the work. In this case, however, we are buried in the contractual minutiae, and we never learn what these documents, and the works, mean. Perhaps Oxford could have enlisted a more engaging writer? Has Welch every hear of inference?

Well written and researched, Ms. Welch does a very good job of giving an overall view of an important period of history - both artistic and political. Good jumping off point for more specific studies in Italian Renaissance history.

I couldn't put it down. I am glad to add it to my library of art history books. The images are detailed.

A very interesting book if you are brushing up on Italian Art and paintings.