Art Treasures in the British Isles

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Here is a fascinating, informative, and visually stimulating survey of the artistic héritage of Great Britain—from the mysterious monument of Stonehenge to the monolithic simplicity of the sculpture of Henry Moore.
Throughout the centuries, Britain has always been receptive to artistic enterprise. Her cathedrals, palaces, country houses, and muséums contain a wealth of beautiful and unique art treasures. This book views the changing tastes of artists and connoisseurs against their historical background, examining the rôle played by the patron—Church, King, and individual—in forming the preferences of a society. Each chapter is written by an expert in the art and architecture of a specific period, and tells how individual pieces were created, commissioned, and collected.
The British Isles were originally isolated from the main stream of European culture, and yet foreign influences have intermittently blended with the native traditions to produce a diversity of personal styles.... Tovább

Fülszöveg

Here is a fascinating, informative, and visually stimulating survey of the artistic héritage of Great Britain—from the mysterious monument of Stonehenge to the monolithic simplicity of the sculpture of Henry Moore.
Throughout the centuries, Britain has always been receptive to artistic enterprise. Her cathedrals, palaces, country houses, and muséums contain a wealth of beautiful and unique art treasures. This book views the changing tastes of artists and connoisseurs against their historical background, examining the rôle played by the patron—Church, King, and individual—in forming the preferences of a society. Each chapter is written by an expert in the art and architecture of a specific period, and tells how individual pieces were created, commissioned, and collected.
The British Isles were originally isolated from the main stream of European culture, and yet foreign influences have intermittently blended with the native traditions to produce a diversity of personal styles. Among the early invaders were the volatile Celts, whose love of intricate ornamentation survived for several centuries in the arts of metalwork and manuscript illumination. The Romans imposed civilization on the warring tribes, and left behind them the remains of palaces, baths, fine sculpture and mosaics. The arrivai of the Normans, with their expertise in building techniques, heralded the beginning of the fertile period of castle and cathedral building that was to flower into the great soaring créations of the Gothic âge. It was the Church that planned and financed these cathedrals, but later, in the fifteenth century, the Tudor kings, squires, and merchants became the sponsors of various chapels and churches.
The Reformation weakened the power of the Church, and the spread of Humanist ideas from abroad led to the first signs of the Renaissance in England. The new rich class that was coming into existence built themselves great houses in the country, thereby starting one of Britain's finest traditions. Successive générations filled their houses with collections of objects d'art, paintings and furniture, so that every one, the Elizabethan
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