Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Part 1 The Late Thirteenth and Early Fourteenth Centuries
• 1 The Origins of the Renaissance
• 2 Rome
• 3 Assisi
• 4 Padua
• 5 Florence
• 6 Siena
• 7 Naples
• 8 Venice
• 9 Pisa and Florence
• 10 Padua
• 11 Milan
• Part 2 The Fifteenth Century
• 12 Florence: Commune and Guild
• 13 Florence: The Medici and the Appropriation of Political Propaganda
• 14 Rome: Re-establishing Papal Power
• 15 Venice and the Veneto
• 16 Courtly Art
• 17 Sforza Milan
• Part 3 The First Half of the Sixteenth Century
• 18 Milan and Lombardy
• 19 Florence: The Renewed Republic
• 20 The Rome of Julius II, Leo X, and Clement VII
• 21 Mantua, Parma, and Genoa: The Arts at Court
• 22 Florence: Mannerism and the Medici
• 23 Venice: Vision and Monumentality
• Part 4 The Later Sixteenth Century
• 24 The Rome of Paul III
• 25 The Demands of the Council of Trent
• 26 Milan and Northern Italy: Reform and Innovation
• 27 Rome: A European Capital City

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

This fine work by Paoletti and Radke (art history, Wesleyan Univ. and Syracuse Univ., respectively) is wide in scope, covering the years from 1300 to the late 1500s, and purposely opens discussion to include many major Italian cities, in response to Vasari's bias solely for Florence. Whereas other books are organized by time (Frederick Hartt's History of Italian Renaissance Art, Abrams, 1994. 4th ed.), by artists (Sydney J. Freedberg's Painting in Italy, Yale Univ., 1992. o.p.), or by patronage (Alison Cole's Virtue and Magnificence, Abrams, 1995), this book's essence is the relationships among artist, art, location, and public. Other recent books have used this focus, but Paoletti and Radke manage a more adroit presentation. Primary source material is interspersed throughout the text to set concepts in their historic framework. Appendixes, including city maps, ruling genealogies, and artist's biographies, are constructive. Highly suitable as an introductory text, this is an excellent choice for public libraries.‘Nadine Dalton Speidel, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., Parma, Ohio (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Through successive versions this textbook, now in its fourth edition, has maintained its strengths as well as some weaknesses in comparison with its principal competitor--Frederick Hartt and David Wilkins's venerable History of Italian Renaissance Art (7th ed., 2011; 5th ed., CH, Feb'03, 40-3197). Paoletti (emer., Wesleyan) and Radke (Syracuse) initially devised an approach that challenged the traditional "Vasarian" or biographical approach to Renaissance artists, instead discussing works within their larger context and emphasizing a common purpose, meaning, or type. Works made for Siena's Palazzo Pubblico in the Trecento, e.g., or for Florence's Cathedral complex in the early Quattrocento, are discussed together, not just within sections about individual artists. While this approach works well for the large projects just mentioned, it also leads to some repetition and confusion when addressing major or influential artists who may have worked in a number of cities, or for a variety of patrons. This edition attempts to better reconcile the tension between discussing commissions or types of works, and recognizing the significance of individual artists, but some fragmentation remains. Overall readers will find it most valuable, based on its accuracy, sensitivity in discussing works, and, compared to earlier editions, the size and quality of its illustrations. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers. J. I. Miller California State University, Long Beach