Piero di Cosimo: The Poetry of Painting in Renaissance Florence (Hardback)

Dennis Geronimus (author), Virginia Brilliant (author), David Franklin (author), Gretchen Hirschauer (editor), Alison Luchs (editor), Serena Padovani (editor), Elizabeth Walmsley (illustrator)

£45.00

Hardback 240 Pages / Published: 28/01/2015

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Synopsis

Born in 1462, an auspicious time for hopeful young painters in Renaissance Florence, Piero di Cosimo left the city's artistic landscape forever changed upon his death in 1522. The singular vision of this highly esteemed painter is beautifully presented in this important publication, which accompanies the first-ever retrospective of di Cosimo's astonishing career. A contemporary of luminaries such as Botticelli, Leonardo and Michelangelo, Piero di Cosimo was regarded in his day as a creative spirit of uncommon imagination. As a poet his fantastic inventions rivalled the verses of the shining lights of ancient Greece and Rome, whose myths and allegories he set out to transform in a strange language all his own. As a masterful painter of both sacred and profane subjects he could flit between complex, crowded compositions and scenes of intimate, tranquil lyricism. This groundbreaking publication demonstrates di Cosimo's range through in-depth discussions of individual works that help to substantiate specific interpretations and cases of authorship while also addressing the broader social and religious functions of image-making in the period. This unique publication makes a significant contribution to our understanding of a true Italian master, arguably Renaissance art's most spellbinding storyteller.

Publisher: Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 9781848221734
Number of pages: 240
Dimensions: 292 x 241 mm

MEDIA REVIEWS

'This catalogue of an important exhibition held at the National Gallery of Art in Washington presents a cross section of the artist's entire career, giving equal weight to religious and secular production. ... Essays on selected topics supplement the full catalogue entries, all of it enriched with large color plates and revealing, detailed close-ups. ... Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.' Choice 'This book, written on the occasion of a landmark exhibition, brings alive the work of one of the great non-conformists of the Renaissance. Piero di Cosimo's curiosity about nature was surpassed only by the multi-faceted genius of Leonardo da Vinci, who was ten years Piero's senior and had a profound influence on his art. His wonderment of the ordinary in life and his sensitivity to the foibles of humanity as well as of animals enabled him to re-imagine the great religious and mythologic themes patrons demanded. Anyone who pages through this beautifully produced book will come away with a new vision of Renaissance painting.' Keith Christiansen, Metropolitan Museum of Art ' ... Piero di Cosimo: The Poetry of Painting in Renaissance Florence is a book that stands as an equal to the magnificent show it accompanies, and is also to be welcomed as a major contribution to scholarship, belonging on the shelf of every scholar of 15th century Florentine art.' Karen Hope Goodchild, Wofford College 'A beautifully illustrated introduction to the life and work of a master of Rennaissance Florence' The Tablet, May 2015