Italian Painting

by Keith Christiansen

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0883639718
• ISBN13: 9780883639719
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Trident
• Length: 319 Pages
• Weight: 6.32 lbs.

Customer Reviews

sweeping reach, but has to be only a summary

The author takes a tour of over 2000 years of painting done in Italy. Starting with the pre-Roman times, where the efforts of the Etruscans are documented. Along with the later influence of the Greeks on the Imperial Roman artists. Most of the paintings shown in the book, from this era, have the artist being unknown. Lost in the depths of time. Later, in the Middle Ages, the book describes how Italy always had a diversity of painting styles. Not just Roman. The Lombard region, centred on Milan, was influenced by the German schools. While Venice came under strong Byzantine and Greek attraction. And Neapolitan painters were often affected by Spanish or French artists. Because of the prodigious output over this time, each chapter only serves to give a tantalising glimpse of the period and style it documents. The large format of the book serves well in providing space for many colour plates. But, inevitably, not enough in each chapter. There is no attempt to give a comprehensive study of any of the great artists like Caraveggio or da Vinci. Still, you can appreciate that there never really was a single Italian school or style of painting. Diversity was always a hallmark.