Between the `Black Death' in the mid-fourteenth century and the French invasions at the end of the fifteenth, artists such as Masaccio, Donatello, Fra Angelico, and Leonardo, working in the kingdoms, princedoms, and republics of the Italian peninsula, created some of the most influential and exciting works in a variety of artistic fields. Yet the traditional story of the Renaissance has been dramatically revised in the light of new scholarship, and new issues have greatly enriched our understanding of the period. Emphasis has been placed on recreating the experience of contemporary Italians - the patrons who commissioned the works, the members of the public who viewed them, and the artists who produced them. In this book Evelyn Welch presents a fresh picture of the Italian Renaissance. Giving equal weight to the Italian regions outside Florence, she discusses a wide range of works, from paintings to coins, and from sculptures to tapestries, examines the issues of materials, workshop practises, and artist-patron relationships, and explores the ways in which visual imagery related to contemporary sexual, social and political behaviour.

About the Author
Evelyn Welch is a Lecturer at the Warburg Institute, University of London. Her publications include Art and Authority in Renaissance Milan (Yale, 1995).

Reviews
impressive ... compares well with other recent offerings on the same subject * The Bookseller *
Fully and often surprisingly illustrated, carefully annotated and captioned, each combines a historical overview with a nicely opinionated individual approach. * Independent on Sunday *
These two books in a new series, the Oxford History of Art, are welcome attempts to assimilate genuine and informed scholarship of the best sort to some, at least, of the ostensible aims of what refers to itself as the 'new' art history. If these volumes are anything to go by, the series will provide authoritative and reliable essays on key aspects of the history of art, in a convenient format and, given the high quality, quantity and range of the illustrations, at an astonishingly reasonable price. This is an extraordinarily wide-ranging book within its brief compass, full of insights and information of a kind not readily met with, and Dr Welch always reminds us of how art appeared and functioned within its context, both historical and topographical. The book is also notably well and clearly written. * Robin Simon, Apollo Magazine: May 1997 *
thought-provoking ... Accessible and clearly written * Yorkshire Post (Leeds) *
a superb piece of publishing * Rupert Christiansen, Spectator *



Book Information
ISBN 9780192842794
Author Evelyn Welch
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 634g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 168mm * 18mm