Early Italian Painting (Art of Century)

by Joseph Archer Crowe

http://amazon.com/dp/B00KHLOX78

Oscillating between the majesty of the Greco-Byzantine tradition and the modernity predicted by Giotto, Early Italian Painting addresses the first important aesthetic movement that would lead to the Renaissance. Trying new mediums and techniques, these revolutionary artists no longer painted frescoes on walls, but created the first mobile paintings on wooden panels. The faces of the figures were painted to shock the spectator in order to emphasize the divinity of the character being represented. The bright gold leafed backgrounds were used to highlight the godliness of the subject. The elegance of both line and color were combined to reinforce specific symbolic choices. Ultimately the Early Italian artists wished to make the invisible visible. In this magnificent book, the authors emphasize the importance that the rivalry between the Sienese and Florentine schools played in the evolution of art history.