The Italian Renaissance Altarpiece
Between Icon and Narrative
Published on 8. June 2021
Book
Hardback
496 pages
978-0-300-25364-1 (ISBN)
Description
The comprehensive study of the Italian Renaissance altarpiece from the 13th to the early 17th century
The altarpiece is one of the most distinctive and remarkable art forms of the Renaissance period. It is difficult to imagine an artist of the time-whether painter or sculptor, major or minor-who did not produce at least one. Though many have been displaced or dismembered, a substantial proportion of these works still survive. Despite the volume of material available, no serious attempt has ever been made to examine the whole subject in depth until now. The Italian Renaissance Altarpiece is the first comprehensive study of the genre to examine its content and subject matter in real detail, from the origins of the altarpiece in the 13th century to the time of Caravaggio in the early 1600s. It discusses major developments in the history of these objects throughout Italy, covers the three key categories of Renaissance altarpiece-"immagini" (icons), "historie" (narratives), and "misteri" (mysteries)-and is illustrated with 250 beautiful reproductions of the artworks.
The altarpiece is one of the most distinctive and remarkable art forms of the Renaissance period. It is difficult to imagine an artist of the time-whether painter or sculptor, major or minor-who did not produce at least one. Though many have been displaced or dismembered, a substantial proportion of these works still survive. Despite the volume of material available, no serious attempt has ever been made to examine the whole subject in depth until now. The Italian Renaissance Altarpiece is the first comprehensive study of the genre to examine its content and subject matter in real detail, from the origins of the altarpiece in the 13th century to the time of Caravaggio in the early 1600s. It discusses major developments in the history of these objects throughout Italy, covers the three key categories of Renaissance altarpiece-"immagini" (icons), "historie" (narratives), and "misteri" (mysteries)-and is illustrated with 250 beautiful reproductions of the artworks.
Reviews / Votes
"Ekserdijan has an impressive encyclopaedic knowledge of the byways of altarpiece development during the period. . . . He writes engagingly and wears his learning lightly, and, with its 250 illustrations, this handsome book is designed in the best Yale tradition."-Peter Humfrey, Art Newspaper"The first in-depth study of the genre. . . . Mr. Ekserdjian nimbly addresses styles, patrons, artists, and history, as well as the three key categories of the Renaissance altarpiece: icons, narratives and mysteries. And he teaches how to read altarpieces, including their predellas, or related supporting panels. The book is beautifully illustrated with 250 plates; you'll savor both image and text."-Lance Esplund, Wall Street Journal (Holiday Gift Book selection)
"Ekserdjian brilliantly outlines the broad picture, but the devil is in his details: how variously artists, famous and obscure, enlivened and energised this iconic structure, balancing narrative and invention, clarity and mystery."-Jackie Wullschlaeger, Financial Times, "Best Books of 2021: Visual Arts"
"David Ekserdjian's book is a sumptuous and scholarly study of a form he sifts into categories - icons, narratives and mysteries - to reveal its development and subtleties."-Michael Prodger, Sunday Times, "Books of the Year: Art"
"[Ekserdijan] excels at shepherding us through the varieties of altarpiece and the terminology used to describe them . . . Peppered with new and surprising insights, this painstaking study will become an indispensable work."-James Hall, Times Literary Supplement
"The glorious art of the kind that Napoleon would have stolen if he could is on full display in David Ekserdijan's The Italian Renaissance Altarpiece."-Michael Glover, The Tablet
"One of the most magnificent picture books I have ever handled...As David's minute scholarship and acute observation draw you in deeper, to places and artists you have never heard of, you gain a fresh and startling sense of the breaktaking abundance of sixteenth-century Italy."-Ferdinand Mount, Times Literary Supplement
"Professor Ekserdijan has brought together a career's worth of knowledge of Italian art to focus on a subject that, while widely commented on, has not received detailed analysis."-Nicholas Cranfield, Church Times
"The very superior product of a lifetime of thinking and writing about the subject...Peppered with new and surprising insights, this meticulous study will become an indispensable work."-James Hall, Literary Review
"Citing a wealth of examples that is unlikely to be surpassed, Ekserdijan's text is certainly alive to the exceptions that emerge whenever one attempts to apply the rule of thumb...The broad genre of the Renaissance altarpiece is triumphantly reasserted here as an arena for artistic creativity and experimentation."-Donal Cooper, Apollo Magazine
"This beautiful volume's real claim to magisterial status rests on the author's ability to combine formidable erudition with pellucid prose, the elegance with which he organises his almost limitless material, and the originality of the entire enterprise. This book is the crowning achievement of a life's work."-Daniel Johnson, The Critic
"More comprehensive and detailed than any previous work devoted to this subject, David Ekserdjian's The Italian Renaissance Altarpiece: Between Icon and Narrative both provides an authoritative history of altarpieces in Italy up to c.1600 and addresses fundamental questions about the nature of religious art in this period."-Nicholas Penny, The Burlington Magazine
CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2022
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
250 color + b-w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 293 mm
Width: 258 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
2581 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-300-25364-1 (9780300253641)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
David Ekserdjian is professor of history of art and film at the University of Leicester