This book aims to provide a thorough introduction to the Renaissance in Italy, accompanied with the finest illustrations. The works are the central focus: reinforced by an expert text, the reproductions provide a rich trove to guide the art lover throughthe field. Essays by various hands analyze these works, linking them to the history and ideas of the times and creating a carefully nuanced overall picture of the Renaissance. Certain key developments widely associated with the Renaissance are shown to have been the achievements of the late Middle Ages. The evolution of the main genres of architecture, sculpture, painting and draftsmanship is followed in detail. The individual artists and circumstances that prompted the most innovative developments are described. If the mythologized view of the Renaissance as an idealized Golden Age, a view established in the 19th century, is questioned in the course of this inquiry, there can still be no doubt that the glorious accomplishments of the Renaissance richly deserve our admiration.
