ART APPRECIATION THREAD -- books on Renaissance art, artists, and art history

ART BOOKS REVIEWS ^ | n/a

[Liz]

Art appreciators may want to read some of the books listed on the site linked here. Some of the books reviewed include:

The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall

Lust for Life

Brunelleschis Dome : How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture

Michelangelo and the Popes Ceiling

The Stones of Florence

The Lives of the Artists (Oxford Worlds Classics)

The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance : How Brunelleschi and Ghiberti Changed the Art World

Michelangelo : The Frescoes of Sistine Chapel

Leonardo : The Artist and the Man

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One of the book reviews is reproduced here:

The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo .....Customer Review #3: Michaelangelos Italian Renaissance Brought to Life: Irving Stone has given us an exceptionally readable fictionalized history of the life of Michaelangelo Buonarroti. Stone's ten pages of bibliography hint at his scholarship; we trust his command of history. Yet he brings the novelists perspective in breathing life into his protagonist. Nor is it only Michaelangelo himself whose character we explore, but all of the important people in Michaelangelos life. For instance we get as tired of his father, Lodovicos, complaints about his career choice as Michaelangelo himself must have been. And Pope Julius IIs incredibly thoughtless treatment of him is explained in full detail.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to get started in art history with one of its most interesting artists. It is must reading for anyone planning a visit to Florence or the Vatican. If I have one complaint, it is Stone's curious and disruptive use of common words carrying uncommon meaning. An example is "fabric," by which Stone means "construction." Without explanation, he gives the word its meaning as the root word in "fabrication." And his consistent use of the word "sculpture" as a transitive verb is similarly disruptive. Why not "sculpt?" Nonetheless I loved this book, found it impossible to put down, and I strongly recommend it.

[jalisco555]

There's a great course entitled "From Monet to Van Gogh: A History of Impressionism" offered by the Teaching Company. It's 24 half-hour lectures on DVD by Richard Brettell who teaches at the U. of Dallas and used to be the Impressionism Curator at the Art Institute of Chicago. It's an outstanding introduction to the subject by a gifted teacher. My wife and I are watching it for the second time.

[Liz]

Thanks.......is this in book stores?

[Liz]

Thanks, great suggestions.

[Sabatier]

The Renaissance artists could really draw. Da Vinci and Michelangelo both drew beautifully. There are lots of "painters" around today who can't draw well at all. That's why they have to resort to splashing paint around on canvas.

[hobson]

Me too! My dream home is any one of the Case Study homes.

[wideminded]

Lives of the Artists by Giorgio Vasari is interesting reading. Vasari was a contemporary of many of the artists he discusses and was a personal friend of Michelangelo. His introduction to the chapter on Leonardo da Vinci is thought-provoking and beautiful writing:

"In the normal course of events many men and women are born with various remarkable qualities and talents; but occasionally, in a way that transcends nature, a single person is marvelously endowed by heaven with beauty, grace and talent in such abundance that he leaves other men far behind, all his actions seem inspired, and indeed everything he does clearly comes from God rather than from human art. Everyone acknowledged that this was true of Leonardo da Vinci, an artist of outstanding physical beauty who displayed infinite grace in everything he did and who cultivated his genius so brilliantly that all problems he studied he solved with ease. He possessed great strength and dexterity; he was a man of regal spirit and tremendous breadth of mind. [...] This marvelous and divinely inspired Leonardo was.[...] so favored by nature that to whatever he turned his mind or thoughts the results were always inspired and perfect; and his lively and delightful works were incomparably graceful and realistic. " - link (Penguin translation)

[Liz]

"........Leonardo da Vinci (was) an artist of outstanding physical beauty who displayed infinite grace in everything he did and who cultivated his genius so brilliantly that all problems he studied he solved with ease. He possessed great strength and dexterity; he was a man of regal spirit and tremendous breadth of mind. [...] This marvelous and divinely inspired Leonardo was.[...] so favored by nature that to whatever he turned his mind or thoughts the results were always inspired and perfect; and his lively and delightful works were incomparably graceful and realistic. " - link (Penguin translation)....

Wonderful tribute to an extraordinary artist.

[Liz]

Michaelangelo's sculptures are powerful in the marble exposition of their subject's musculature. The artist was said to study corpses to gain the skill to do his work.

[jalisco555]

Thanks.......is this in book stores?

Only direct from their web site, I think.

www.teach12.com

[Republicanprofessor]

I have found all the Teaching Company material useful. Robert Greenberg does an awesome job on the history of music CDs. They are great to listen to during commutes.

I highly recommend anything they do. (I haven't seen the art yet, but I'm sure it's great too.)

[jalisco555]

I've probably bought upwards of 30 courses from them over the years. I had a fairly narrow, science-based education so I've used the courses to fill in the Humanities gaps. In fact I've turned into such a history nut that some of my colleagues have told me I should go back to school to get a History Ph.D.! Bit late for that, I'm afraid.

Greenberg is great but my favorite professor of all is Rufus Fears of the U. of Oklahoma. He's an unapologetic advocate of the Great Man (or should I say Great Person) theory of history and is a spellbinding lecturer. He just released a new course on Great Books which I plan to pick up soon.

[Republicanprofessor]

I just looked up Rufus Fears. Which ones do you recommend most? I'm going on a long, cross country trip with the kids this summer, and listening to interesting CDs will sustain me.

Sometimes the kids get a great deal out of them too. I think they miss Greenberg this semester, since I'm not teaching anything interdisciplinary with music.

Let me know which are your favorites, and I'll check out the Teaching Company sales.

[jalisco555]

My favorite is the 12 lecture biography of Winston Churchill which I've listened to 3 times so far. Fears is a passionate admirer of Churchill and sees him as the archetype great man who changed history through his personal courage. The courses on Famous Romans and Famous Greeks are also excellent and highly recommended. His course on History of Freedom was also quite good although a bit of a survey course. I'd recommend them in that order. And if you took a chance on his newest course on great books I'm sure you wouldn't go wrong. In fact, I think I'll order it today.

BTW, Prof. Kenneth Harl of Tulane also has a great series of courses covering history going from Rome to the fall of Constantinople. Great stuff as well.