Treasures of a Lost Art: Italian Manuscript Painting of the Middle Ages and Renaissance (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series) [Hardcover]

Pia Palladino (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 8, 2003 | Series: Metropolitan Museum of Art Series

A presentation from a fine private collection of Italian manuscripts. Comparable only to the legendary Cini Collection in Venice, it was formed by Robert Lehman to complement his father's holdings of early Italian panel paintings. Included are works by the major schools of illumination in southern Italy, Umbria, Tuscany, Emilia, Lombardy and the Veneto. Also represented are works by three of the principal artists in the history of Italian painting: Duccio di Buoninsegna, Stefano da Verona and Cosimo Tura.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This scholarly catalogue assembles nearly 150 leaves, cuttings and illuminated manuscript fragments from the collection of Robert Lehman, one of the 20th century's leading collectors of medieval and Renaissance Italian manuscripts. There's little in the way of introduction or overview; the focus, instead, is on the sumptuous color plates from major illumination schools in southern Italy, Umbria, Tuscany, and Lombardy, among others, along with detailed scholarly opinions and context. The 15th century Martyrdom of Saint Agatha in an Initial D by Sano di Pietro, for instance, features a group of colorfully robed men gathered around a bare-chested Saint Agatha; one of the men grips her bleeding breast with an iron tong. The accompanying text describes the fragment's history-the volume of its origin, the dispersal of its pages, and its eventual reconstruction in the last 10 years. With their bright renditions of gore and glory, bordered in elaborate, gilded frameworks, these antique images continue to transfix the viewer as both art and history. This lovingly crafted volume ensures they will continue to enchant for many years to come. 169 illustrations
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

This book is the catalogue for an exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art from February 23 to May 4, 2003; the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco from June 7 to August 31, 2003; and The Metropolitan Museum of Art from September 30, 2003 to February 1, 2004.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 194 pages
• Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art (February 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300098790
• ISBN-13: 978-0300098792
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #480,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For the Specialist, February 15, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Treasures of a Lost Art: Italian Manuscript Painting of the Middle Ages and Renaissance (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series) (Hardcover)

This book is clearly intended for specialists in its field. That is not a negative judgment, but something that the general reader ought to know. It is not a typical art book. There is no commentary on the paintings. The text focuses on the provenance of the works illustrated. Few concessions are made to the general reader. One painting is shown as it appears to the unaided eye and in infrared reflectography. Not a word is said about the latter. The non-specialist, like me, might wonder about the significance of the infrared reflectography. A peculiarity of this book is its inadequate Latin. Some illustrations are accompanied by a transcription of a Latin text not shown in the illustration. There are mistakes in the Latin. The likelihood is not that the liturgical books were written incorrectly but that the transcriber's knowledge is deficient. In some cases a Latin text is given with an English translation. There are numerous errors in the translations. Otherwise, the book is successful.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Italian Illuminations, January 6, 2007

By 

Art Collector (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Treasures of a Lost Art: Italian Manuscript Painting of the Middle Ages and Renaissance (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series) (Hardcover)

This volume contains superb Italian illuminations from the Robert Lehman collection,long housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art but now dispersed. Pia Palladino's understanding of the works is first rate and her comments emormously helpful. I learned a great deal about some of the finest Italian illuminators. Their paintings are a treat for the eye; the vivacity and richness of these colorful works should delight the novice as well as the specialist.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Medieval calligraphy, November 8, 2010

By 

Adriano Bueno "Acb" (Curitiba, BRAZIL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Treasures of a Lost Art: Italian Manuscript Painting of the Middle Ages and Renaissance (Metropolitan Museum of Art Series) (Hardcover)

I always wanted to have some examples of the almost lost art of calligraphy and this book has many!