Botticelli

Fülszöveg

Botticelli is one of the best loved of all artists, but one of the most misunderstood. This new study explodes several cherished myths - Botticelli the religious melancholic, Botticelli the thinker torn between Christianity and paganism, Botticelli the Medici propagandist. In their place it puts Botticelli the Professional. Though in certain respects an untypical Florentine (his interest in anatomy was virtually nil), he brought to all his commissions a unique array of talents: clarity of compbsitiön, jubtléty of line, brilliance of colour and above all an extraordinary ¦ . • '-.p í ability to translate complex narrative or abstract ideas intő visual terms. Ll. D. and Welen Ettlinger offer a new assessment of his life and work in the light of this achievement, and their emphasis is untraditional. The religious pathtings, such as the Uffizi Adoraiion of the Magi or the London Mystic Nativity, and the even more celebrated 'mythologies', like the Birth of Venus and the Primavera, are... Tovább

Fülszöveg

Botticelli is one of the best loved of all artists, but one of the most misunderstood. This new study explodes several cherished myths - Botticelli the religious melancholic, Botticelli the thinker torn between Christianity and paganism, Botticelli the Medici propagandist. In their place it puts Botticelli the Professional. Though in certain respects an untypical Florentine (his interest in anatomy was virtually nil), he brought to all his commissions a unique array of talents: clarity of compbsitiön, jubtléty of line, brilliance of colour and above all an extraordinary ¦ . • '-.p í ability to translate complex narrative or abstract ideas intő visual terms. Ll. D. and Welen Ettlinger offer a new assessment of his life and work in the light of this achievement, and their emphasis is untraditional. The religious pathtings, such as the Uffizi Adoraiion of the Magi or the London Mystic Nativity, and the even more celebrated 'mythologies', like the Birth of Venus and the Primavera, are analysed and discussed at length, but attention is especially directed to the three great frescoes he painted in the Sistine Chapeí (too often passed over by sightseers intent upon Michelangelo) and the drawings he did for Dante's Divine Comedy (which are neglected simply because they are inaccessible). Both show Botticelli at the height of his powers and will be a revelation to many readers. This is a book that is as rewarding for those who already know Botticelli as for those who are coming to him for the first time. About the authors L.D. Ettlinger was born in Germány and came to England as a refugee in 1938. From 1948 to 1964 he was on the staff of the Warburg Institute in London, and from 1959 to 1970 he was Durning- Lawrence Professor of the History of Art atthe University of London. Since 1970 he has been at the University of California, Berkeley. His authörity is now recognized on a whole rangé of subjects from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century. Probably his best-known book is The Sistine Chapel before Michelangelo: Religious Imagery and Papai Politics. A monograph onjthej'ollaiuolo brothers is to appear shortly, and at present he is working on a fresh interpretation of Michelangelo's Medici Chapel. His wife, Helen S. Ettlinger, is a Californian. Shetook herdegree in History of Art at Berkeley, and is closely associated with her husband's research, though she makes her own incisive contribution. ^ On the cover: Two angels from the S. Barnaba Altarpiece (Florence, Uffizi) / : Oxford University Press Vissza