Gothic Art: Glorious Visions (Perspectives) (Trade Version) [Paperback]

Michael Camille (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1996 | Series: Perspectives

Part of Prentice Hall's Perspectives series of moderately priced, heavily illustrated, high-quality paperback books on specific subjects in art history, this survey of Gothic art in Europe takes a fresh look at the meaning of the term "Gothic" and examines the art of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in terms of the way it is seen.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this engagingly original introductory text to art and architecture of the Gothic period, Camille (art history, Univ. of Chicago) eschews a traditional formalistic and iconographic approach. He instead examines Gothic architecture in terms of its liturgical function as a grandiose reliquary to contain holy images and relics, as a sacred image itself, as a context for sculpture and other media, and in relation to an evolving concept of transcendent light. The critical urban context of the style and its relationships to rising monarchic power and shifting religious currents are also stressed. Out of these investigations arises a deeper comprehension of the subjective potency of religious imagery as manifested in communal, devotional, and liturgical contexts. While Camille attempts to come to grips with the essentials of the Gothic style, Partridge (art history, Univ. of California, Berkeley) is content to explore the unfolding of the Renaissance style within the boundaries of 15th- and 16th-century papal Rome. In a consideration that is sensitive to the perilous condition of the church, Partridge thoughtfully reconstructs crucial artistic responses to these challenges. Not only does he retrace the history of urbanistic refurbishment and reconfiguration of the papal city, he also underlines the practical and ideological intentions of these efforts. Individual building projects are also skillfully explored, and their relationships to the historical Roman context and their symbolic significances suggested. The consideration of frescoes offers important insight into the pictorial assertion of sacred and temporal power. These volumes are the latest additions to Abrams's "Perspectives" series, meant to examine significant periods and styles within broader social and historical contexts. While both authors make assertions that go beyond the possibilities of historical knowing, the richness of scholarship, perception, and thought that characterizes these efforts should gain them inclusion in all art libraries.
Robert Cahn, Fashion Inst. of Technology, New York
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810927012
• ISBN-13: 978-0810927018
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #565,708 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #31 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Gothic

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glorious gothic visions extend modern viewpoints, July 22, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Gothic Art Glorious Visions (Paperback)

I generally read art history as a gentle way to access historical information in a setting less dry than the average non fiction text. Michael Camille's "Glorious Visions" is a cool, soothing, and soaring text which leaves you feeling self satisfied for reading something informative.

Camille challenges the usual art historical judgment that gothic art was merely a stiff forerunner to the glories of the renaissance and his book is replete with examples that Gothic art was a great artistic achievement on its own.

The book describes the Gothic experience of vision, but Camille also brings modern sensibilities to bear on Gothic history. He examines art's darker side, including the cost of these fabulous works to the peasantry and the disturbing depiction of the poor and other despised groups (such as the Jews).

This book is easily accessible, lavishly illustrated, and immediately compelling. Highly recommended to any student of art, history, or beauty!