Este libro plantea el estudio del arte español del Quinientos en términos de la dialéctica entre dos sistemas de representación diferentes, reflejo de mentalidades diversas que suponían la aceptación de categorías artísticas distintas y nuevas, así como de significados y funciones de la imagen, figurativa o arquitectónica, hasta entonces insospechados.
Fernando Marías Franco (Madrid, 1949) is Professor of Art History in the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. He also has been Fernando Zóbel de Ayala Visiting Professor of Spanish Art in Harvard University (1989-90), and Samuel H. Kress Senior Fellow at the CASVA in the National Gallery, Washington D.C. (1994-95). He has received a Senior Research Grant from The Getty Grant Program (1993-95) with Prof. Richard L. Kagan (Department of History, The Johns Hopkins University).
He has taught graduated courses in France (Université de la Sorbonne IV in Paris), Italy (Università di Roma3 in Rome, Università di Palermo and Università di Siracusa in Sicily), and in the USA (University of California Los Angeles). He is currently Vicepresident of the Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura 'Andrea Palladio' in Vicenza (Italy) and editor of its periodical “Annali di architettura". He has studied Spanish art and architecture and published on these topics several books and articles.