Art and Society in Italy 1350-1500 by Evelyn Welch

Baxandall’s effort was to use documentary evidence (such as sermons and other writings) to help us in conjuring up “the period eye” through which we could contemplate the works. There, Baxandall gave a sharp twist to the traditional art historical approach, -ironically invented during the Italian Renaissance by Vasari. This is an excellent complementary reading to another account of Art in Renaissance Italy of a more traditional sort.Įvelyn Welch is treading on the path first opened by Michael Baxandall when in 1972 he published Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-Century Italy: A Primer in the Social History of Pictorial Style. My second reading has consolidated the impression I had during my first encounter. From paintings and coins to sculptures and tapestries, Welch examines the issues of materials, workshop practices, and artist-patron relationships, and explores the ways in which visual imagery related to contemporary sexual, social, and political behavior.

Art in Renaissance Italy 1350-1500 dramatically revises the traditional story of the Renaissance and takes into account new issues that have greatly enriched our understanding of the period. Here, Evelyn Welch presents a fresh picture of the Italian Renaissance by challenging traditional scholarship and placing emphasis on recreating the experience of contemporary Italians: the patrons who commissioned the works, the members of the public who viewed them, and the artists who produced them.

The Italian Renaissance was a pivotal period in the history of Western culture during which artists such as Masaccio, Donatello, Fra Angelico, and Leonardo created some of the world's most influential and exciting works in a variety of artistic fields.

Art and Society in Italy 1350-1500 by Evelyn Welch