Renaissance Self-Portraiture: The Visual Construction of Identity and the Social Status of the Artist (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Woods-Marsden (art history, UCLA) presents a clear and convincing argument that Italian artists in the 15th and 16th centuries used autonomous self-portraits (which do not depend on their setting for interpretation) to raise the status of artists from craftsmen/technicians to intellectuals. She writes clearly and develops her arguments through case studies ranging from Alberti to Michelangelo, including women such as Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fonatana. She identifies substantial differences between the works of the 15th century and those that followed, indicating a successful effort on the part of artists to be accepted into their desired worlds of court and intellect. Within its self-imposed boundaries of time and form, the book is highly convincing. Highly recommended for advanced and special collections.AJack Perry Brown, Art Inst. of Chicago Libs.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

This lavishly illustrated book is the first to explore the genesis and early development of self portraiture during the Renaissance in Italy. Woods-Marsden argues that artists represented themselves on canvas in an effort to change both the status of art and their own social standing.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; illustrated edition edition (November 10, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300075960
• ISBN-13: 978-0300075960
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 10 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #928,345 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A pleasure for the mind as well as the eye. Highly readable!, August 18, 1999

By	anonimo "personna" (New York City) - See all my reviews

The author takes on a difficult task and fulfills it beyond expectation. It allows the modern reader insight into the workshop and world of all the artists discussed, from the modest presentation of the artist as a member of the mourners at the Crucifixion to the self-conscious, presentation of the artist as a courtier. All those who have ever transformed themselves before a mirror will learn something about the art of self-imaging. The author places the artists in their time and place, yet relates all those who, sharing the constraints of patronage, took liberties in the privacy of their studios when they put their own features on canvas. The artists could then appear, not only as they were, but as they wished to be seen. From self-revelation to self-marketing, we are able to follow the process of creation from preliminary drawings to engraved reproductions. The book leaves room to browse among many diverse painters, male and female, or to read in depth about one's favorites - whether Artemisia Gentileschi or Raphael, or many less well known. Even though the text is filled with erudite scholarly information, the author never condescends to her readership but writes clearly and simply. The plates are beautifully printed( a rarity in solid - non coffee table - art books) and the text legible. A book which blows away myths to reveal the motivations of the status conscious artist, ever seeking immortality. Recommended for those who want to find out 'why' it was painted as well as 'how'. A revelation of the multiplicity of our potential selves and the multiple strategies used to visualize each of them in the Renaissance. A book that should appeal not only to art historians but painters and advertising executives, corporate imagers and fashion consultant, poets and narcissists alike.