Customer Reviews

Art & Life in Renaissance Venice (Abrams Perspectives)

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This book is a great introdcution to Venetian art of the Renaissance, through its views of the major artists of the time (the Bellinis, Titian, Pollaiuolo, Veronese, etc.), but it incorporates enough social, religious, and political history that one not only gets a more-well rounded view of the Venice of the Renaissance, but also is not bogged down in excessive stylistic analysis. This makes Brown's work a wonderful introduction to the Venetian novice, which many amateur art-historians caught up with Florence and Rome (myself included) tend to be.

This little paperback is packed with great information and great pictures. A must have for anyone interested in Renaissance Venice, it's well-organized and very easy to read.

I read this book just prior to visiting the Boston Museum of Fine Arts about 2 years ago to see their special exhibit on three very important artists in Renaissance Venice: Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese. The book was a great help in understanding the period and helped me to appreciate the exhibit and what the artists were trying to show. I wish I had read the book before visiting Venice itself. But, having read the book again after viewing the exhibit at the MFA, I know what I must see the next time I visit Venice, a truly unique and amazing place.

Patricia Brown's Art and Life in Renaissance Venice provides an interesting analysis of what made Venice artistically and politically different from the other Italian city-states. Brown argues that Venetian "otherness" made its art distinguishable from the art of other Renaissance states. Venice's political and social stability impacted the nature of both art and architecture. Venetian art reflected these and in so doing promoted traditional social and political attitudes.

The strength of Brown's work is the impressive artwork included in the text. The art is used quite convincingly by Brown to show how artists adapted to the demands of the Venetian public.

This is an academically sound and readable book. I highly recommend to my beginning art history students. It is a brief, but skillful purview of the Venetian Renaissance. The discussion of media and processes is particularly helpful.