Art of Renaissance Rome 1400-1600 (Perspectives) (Trade Version) (Paperback)

by Loren Partridge (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Loren Partridge is no newcomer to art of the Renaissance or the art of Italy, with a list of books to his credit that includes Michelangelo: The Sistine Ceiling, Rome, Arts of Power: Three Halls of State in Italy, 1300-1600, and Renaissance Likeness: Art and Culture in Raphael's Julius II. His latest, The Art of Renaissance Rome makes use of unexpected chapters headings to guide the reader along on an exploration of the arts of Rome between 1400 and 1600. This opulent collection of work is further enhanced by maps, artist and royal family histories, chronologies, biographical dictionaries and brief, but telling, artist histories.

From Library Journal
In this engagingly original introductory text to art and architecture of the Gothic period, Camille (art history, Univ. of Chicago) eschews a traditional formalistic and iconographic approach. He instead examines Gothic architecture in terms of its liturgical function as a grandiose reliquary to contain holy images and relics, as a sacred image itself, as a context for sculpture and other media, and in relation to an evolving concept of transcendent light. The critical urban context of the style and its relationships to rising monarchic power and shifting religious currents are also stressed. Out of these investigations arises a deeper comprehension of the subjective potency of religious imagery as manifested in communal, devotional, and liturgical contexts. While Camille attempts to come to grips with the essentials of the Gothic style, Partridge (art history, Univ. of California, Berkeley) is content to explore the unfolding of the Renaissance style within the boundaries of 15th- and 16th-century papal Rome. In a consideration that is sensitive to the perilous condition of the church, Partridge thoughtfully reconstructs crucial artistic responses to these challenges. Not only does he retrace the history of urbanistic refurbishment and reconfiguration of the papal city, he also underlines the practical and ideological intentions of these efforts. Individual building projects are also skillfully explored, and their relationships to the historical Roman context and their symbolic significances suggested. The consideration of frescoes offers important insight into the pictorial assertion of sacred and temporal power. These volumes are the latest additions to Abrams's "Perspectives" series, meant to examine significant periods and styles within broader social and historical contexts. While both authors make assertions that go beyond the possibilities of historical knowing, the richness of scholarship, perception, and thought that characterizes these efforts should gain them inclusion in all art libraries.?Robert Cahn, Fashion Inst. of Technology, New York
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810927187
• ISBN-13: 978-0810927186
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,857,966 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovers of Rome, read this book!, November 5, 1998

By A Customer

This book is very well researched and written in a manner all lovers of Roman renaissance history, art and architecture will find rewarding. The author finds within the art and architecture of Rome new details and subtleties which often seem lost in the grand depictions of this highly researshed subject. The book contains excellent reproductions of the art - especially the Sistine Chaple and the Alter pieces, a very useful map and a chronological table toward the end which is valuable for quick reference. My only negetive criticism of this fine book would be concerning the history of the earlier buildings which existed before the grand palazzos were erected. For example, I have a sub-passion for the history of the Piazza del Campidoglio (Capitoline). I know the present Palazzo del Senatore was formerly a palace or large building constructed over the Tabularium built by Lucius Cornelius Sulla. I was looking for more information explaining Michelangelo's planning and vision (which he accomplished) for this important site. This very well may have been outside the author's parameter but I am looking for a detailed discussion of the layers of history around the buildings of the Capitol. Nonetheless, I loved this book and will often refer to it and bring it with me on my next trip to the Eternal City.