Image from Syndetics
Shadows and enlightenment / Michael Baxandall.
By: Baxandall, Michael
.
Material type: 
BookPublisher: New Haven, CT ; London : Yale University Press, 1995Description: xii, 1929 p. : ill(some col.) ; 25 cm. + hbk.ISBN: 0300059795.Subject(s): Shades and shadows in art | Visual perception | Light in art | Shades and shadowsDDC classification: 701.8
| Item type | Current library | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Lending | MTU Crawford College of Art and Design Library Lending | 701.8 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 00052810 |
Total holds: 0
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Shadows are holes in light. They are see all the time and sometimes noticed, but their part in our visual experience of the world is mysterious. This text draws on contemporary cognitive science, 18th-century theories of visual perception and art history to discuss shadows and the visual knowledge they can offer.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Reviews provided by Syndetics
CHOICE Review
With its slightly punning title, this scholarly study of shadows cuts a wide swath through many fields: art and science, perception and cognition, history and philosophy. Moreover, the topics are not confined to the 18th century, ostensibly the temporal focus of the book; rather, Baxandall (Univ. of California, Berkeley) sweeps with ease between Enlightenment treatises and the testimony of contemporary science. The result is eclectic: the physics of photons, the neurology of perception, optical illusions, machine vision, phenomenological introspection--all these the author draws on in pursuit of the nature of shadows. Although that nature remains elusive, the process is not aimless; the text has fascinating things to say about what shadows may tell us of the shape and texture of objects, or of atmosphere and space. Some of the most engaging parts of the book are the analyses of shadows in particular pictures, although unfortunately there are far too few. This is an advanced book. For an introduction to the topic, E.H. Gombrich's Shadows: The Depiction of Cast Shadows in Western Art (1995) is warmly recommended--especially for the discussions of more than 50 illustrations. Upper-division undergraduate; graduate; faculty. D. Topper; University of WinnipegAuthor notes provided by Syndetics
Art historian Michael Baxandall was born in Cardiff, England. He studied at Downing College at Cambridge; the University of Pavia in Italy; and the Institute of Art History at Munich. He taught at numerous universities throughout his lifetime including Oxford University, the University of London, Cornell University, and the University of California at Berkeley. His books include Giotto and the Orators; Painting and Experience in 15th-Century Italy; The Limewood Sculptors of Renaissance Germany; and Shadows and Enlightenment. He died of pneumonia associated with Parkinson's disease on August 12, 2008 at the age of 74.(Bowker Author Biography)