Larousse Encyclopedia of Renaissance and Baroque Art - Hardcover

Huyghe, Rene. (editor).

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 2702826296 ISBN 13: 9782702826294

Publisher: Paul Hamlyn, 1964

Synopsis

This encyclopedia covers the most vital period in European art. The great Gothic cathedrals were still being built when the first faint tremors of the revolution to come could be felt. As the period closed Napoleon was embarking on his attempted conquest of Europe. During these five centuries Europe 'came of age' and started its increasingly urgent drive towards the world we know today. Art, as it always does, affected and was affected by the changes of times. As man himself replaced the mysteries of religion as the focal point of life and culture, so portraiture rather than the decoration of churches became a dominant interest of artists. This is the age of the greatest geniuses of painting - from the calm contemplation of Duccio, Cimabue and Giotto, through the delicate grace of Botticelli and the immense grandeur of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Rembrandt to the seductive frivolities of Fragonard and Boucher. But paint was not the only branch of art to be carried forward by the tide of the Renaissance. Architecture, sculpture, ceramics, tapestries and the 'minor' arts were all affected and all are included in the scope of this book. The main purpose of the book is to present art not on its own, but as one essential element of the continuous development of mankind, to show how it is affected by, and affects, the thinking, attitudes and way of life of a particular period and place. Art and mankind are indissolubly linked, and it is only by considering art in relation to mankind and not just as an interesting phenomenon entirely unconnected with 'real life' and the ordinary man that the true nature of art, and also of man, can be fully understood.

About this edition

• Publisher: Paul Hamlyn
• Publication date: 1964
• ISBN 10: 2702826296
• ISBN 13: 9782702826294
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1