Influenced by a revival of interest in Greco-Roman ideals and sponsored by a newly prosperous merchant class, fifteenth-century artists produced works of astonishingly innovative content and technique. The International Gothic style of painting, still popular at the beginning of the century, was giving way to the influence of Early Netherlandish Flemish masters such as Jan van Eyck, who emphasized narrative and the complex use of light for symbolic meaning. Patrons favored paintings in oil and on wooden panels for works ranging from large, hinged altarpieces to small,...
Influenced by a revival of interest in Greco-Roman ideals and sponsored by a newly prosperous merchant class, fifteenth-century artists produced works...
In the sixteenth century the humanist values and admiration for classical antiquity that marked the early Renaissance spread from Italy throughout the rest of the continent, resulting in the development of a number of local artistic styles in other countries. Artists were highly valued and richly compensated during this period, with many receiving lucrative commissions from papal, royal, and private patrons. Among the sixty artists whose works are presented in this volume are towering figures of Western art such as Michelangelo, Raphael, El Greco, and Titian. Venetian...
In the sixteenth century the humanist values and admiration for classical antiquity that marked the early Renaissance spread from Italy throughout the...
