The Portrait in the Renaissance: The A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts [Paperback]

John Pope-Hennessy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1979

This major work by one of the twentieth century's most eminent art historians is available again in paperback through Princeton University Press. Here John Pope-Hennessy takes as his subject two centuries of experiment in portraiture during the Renaissance. He shows how the Renaissance cult of individuality brought with it a demand that the features of the individual be perpetuated. This concept was first manifested in the portraits that fill the great Florentine fresco cycles and led, later in the fifteenth century, to the creation of the independent portrait by such artists as Botticelli, Antonio Pollaiuolo, Giovanni Bellini, and Antonello da Messina. The author goes on to describe the process by which Titian and the great artists of the High Renaissance transformed the portrait from a record of appearance into an analysis of character.This major work by one of the twentieth century's most eminent art historians is available again in paperback through Princeton University Press. Here John Pope-Hennessy takes as his subject two centuries of experiment in portraiture during the Renaissance. He shows how the Renaissance cult of individuality brought with it a demand that the features of the individual be perpetuated. This concept was first manifested in the portraits that fill the great Florentine fresco cycles and led, later in the fifteenth century, to the creation of the independent portrait by such artists as Botticelli, Antonio Pollaiuolo, Giovanni Bellini, and Antonello da Messina. The author goes on to describe the process by which Titian and the great artists of the High Renaissance transformed the portrait from a record of appearance into an analysis of character.

Editorial Reviews

Review

[An] elegant, erudite, and very readable book.... By concentrating on the stylistic morphology of the portrait and [by] drawing on the whole range of spiritual, cultural, and aesthetic forces that determined its development in these glorious centuries, Mr. Pope-Hennessy is able to show us these artists in a fresh light.... [The] book is animated by an admirable intelligence and a fine clarity.

Product Details

• Paperback: 382 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (September 1, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691018251
• ISBN-13: 978-0691018256
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #548,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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