Customer Reviews

Venice: Lion City- The Religion of Empire

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gary Wills's VENICE: LION CITY is a very intelligent study in cultural criticism by a popular and eminent American historian: as the book's dustcover makes clear, Simon and Schuster wants to market this as Wills' entry into Simon Schama territory. Basically, he's trying to interpret the most famous works of Venetian Renaissance art and architecture through the pervasive imperial ideology of what was an odd throwback to a Hellenistic city-state. The book works best for someone with a strong familiarity with the art of Venice already, and Wills answers some very intriguing questions along the way both on a factual level (why is the winged lion used to represent St. Mark, the city's patron? Why were Christians in earlier times so obsessed with saints' relics?) and on the interpretive level as well (why are Bellini's Madonnas so inward-looking?). But Simon and Schuster have not served this book well on many levels. It deserves a much fancier format than it is allowed, with much larger reproductions and more full-colored plates: some works Wills discusses (like Titan's "Assumption") are not reproduced at all, and a massive work like Tintoretto's "Crucifixion"--so important to Wills' argument--deserves a two-page (or fold-out) reproduction than the mere one page it receives. Also, someone needed to edit the book much more vigorously. I counted several times when Wills basically repeats an entire paragraph of interpretation from earlier in the work. This is a good book, but not for the casual reader, and it deserves in the future a much more sophisticated revision and re-issue.

An extraordinary book! History, religion, art, political theory all blended together. I pulled out all my other books and travel guides from Venice and was bouncing back and forth studying art and architecture from a whole new point of view. Read this book before you visit Venice and take it with you as a whole new kind of guide.

The Venice Chamber of Commerce ought to be happy, I am planning my next trip now.

Garry -- Please do this for 5 other great cities. How about Amsterdam? Paris?

This is a wonderful book. While Wills has been criticized as a non-specialist in these reviews, in many ways I found that an asset in this book. It is beautifully written - he has a uniquely clear and flowing style of writing that is a continual pleasure for me - and as he presents the essence of the many subjects he wishes to cover, he rarely gets bogged down in detail. In addition, many of the things that he investigates are wonderful surprizes for non-specialized readers such as myself (e.g. that the body of St. Mark was stolen by Venetians and set up in a shrine to establish the legitimacy of the city's unusual political culture).

THe book is organized in several theme sections. First, in Imperial Disciplines, there are the historical origins and unique structure of this Renaissance state, which allowed it to escape the power struggles that dogged medieval Italy, i.e. unlike the innumerable city states re-fought the same territorial battles every generation under different egomaniacs. Second, in Imperial Personnel, Wills looks at the various members of society, from the frozen aristocracy (built on the expectation of duty rather than priviledge) to the workers who made the city's arsenal such as great and unique strategic asset as well as the "outsiders," such as the Jews (the word "ghetto," we learn, was coined for Venetian brass foundaries); how the state functioned, who held power and how it was exercised (in a diffused bureaucratic balance), are expertly described while avoiding the heaviness of a comprehensive history. Third, in Imperial Piety, there is the religious iconography and ritual, which in part allowed Venetians the sense of legitimacy they needed to defy Rome and the Pope over centuries. As I am quite ignorent of Christian history, this was fascinating and valuable for me, e.g. that St George was a Christianized Hercules, who also "fought" the many plagues that inevitably arose in the Venetian environment. Finally, in Imperial Learning, there is the Renaissance scholarship that came late to the city, and how it altered the art, politics, book scholarship, and the like - all set in geo-political context. Throughout - and sometimes with too much descriptive detail for me - Wills interprets the art and architecture of Venice in light of these themes. The result is simply dazzling, in my view, a masterwork by a great populariser and philosophical moralist.

At any rate, this was exactly what I was looking for, and from reading many of WIlls' books, what I expected. It is not for graduate-level academics, but rather for those well informed on European history who are curious to learn more on Venice.

Warmly recommended.

This book provides some interesting artistic and historic insights to lovers of Venice, but it is a difficult "read" and is often strained in its interpretations and conclusions. It also presumes a fairly advanced knowledge of Venetian art and history. In addition, there are various out-and-out errors: For example, on pg. 19, the Italian word "fondaco" is wrong-- it should be "fondamento"; on pg. 21, the saint identified as Stephen is actually Sebastian; on pg. 264, St. Sebastian's date, stated unequivocally to be 4th century A.D., could just as well have been 3rd century, since sources differ on the point. I would have expected a higher degree of accuracy from this author.

I read Gary Wills book with great expectations
in preparation for a trip to Venice in February.
It provided a wealth of historical information that
cannot be found in the "tour books" and yet, was an
overall disappointment. The book became most tedious
when it ventured into the art of Titian, Giorgione, et al.
The non-color photographs were poorly produced and
difficult to see, let alone enjoy, in contrast to the
limited number of color plates that do appear. Greater in-depth treatment of the doges and their families would have made this a more interesting study. Perhaps I'll have a greater appreciation for the book after my return from our trip.

The author brings together in an erudite way the scholarship of a variety of writers about topics in Venice. He refers constantly to works of art and architecture in the city, but he does not always illustrate them. That's annoying. A good bit of the analysis is of the kind you find in art history textbooks.
The book is more interesting to skim than to read thoroughly.

This unusual book looks at the history of the Venetian Republic through the eyes of a cultural historian, with special emphasis on the visual symbols of Venetian uniqueness. While the early chapters and the concluding chapter give us intelligent but conventional history writing, much of the book focuses on Wills' interpretations of Venetian Renaissance art and architecture. His intriguing scholarly observations place these works in the context of Venetian history, politics, and society. Wills also highlights many of Venice's most striking personalities. The book is extensively illustrated with black and white reproductions; a central section presents 31 color plates. Readers with a strong interest in the visual arts will find this book fascinating. Other readers may find the second half heavy going.

Wills' intention is to "look at the history through the art, the art through the history." As a result, the book depends very much on its illustrations, and these are unfortunately miserably poor. When a work being discussed is reproduced at all, the reproduction is likely to be a dark smudge of ink about the size of a playing card. The result is a very frustrating reading experience that I wouldn't wish on anyone.

VENICE: LION CITY is essentially a text book for an art history course. Garry Wills demonstrates how every aspect of society, government and religion that made Venice a great power is expressed in painting, sculpture and architecture of the 15th and 16th centuries.

Wills pulls together a wide range of scholarship and makes it--in one rather compact volume--accessible to the general reader. While it may be a bit dry, the book is interesting and relatively brisk reading.

If you're a Venetophile and would like to know more about art and society at the Serene Republic's height, you should enjoy VENICE: LION CITY.

I love history, but it has to have a decent narrative. This book does have history, but a good narrative appears sporadically. While better than scholarly writing, this just won't keep you glued to your seat. If you can push yourself to finish you deserve a pat on the back, but don't buy this book if you need to be enthralled.