El Renacimiento italiano: Cultura y sociedad en Italia

by Peter Burke

En este brillante y elogiado trabajo, Peter Burke presenta una historia social y cultural del Renacimiento italiano. Polemiza sobre las instituciones sociales y políticas que existían en Italia durante los siglos XV y XVI y analiza los modos de pensar y de mirar que caracterizan a este periodo de una creatividad artística extraordinaria. Con un enfoque sociológico, Peter Burke se interesa no solo por las obras de Miguel Ángel, Rafael o Leonardo da Vinci sino también por el fundamento social, la manera de agruparse y las formas de subsistencia de esta «élite cultural». En esta edición, completamente revisada, se ofrece una nueva Introducción que se centra en lo que Burke llama el «giro doméstico», hacia la vida material y privada, en los estudios sobre el Renacimiento y en la relación del Renacimiento con otras modas globales. Este trabajo es una contribución fundamental para el entendimiento del Renacimiento italiano y para la comprensión de las complejas relaciones entre la cultura y la sociedad.

Genres: History, Art, Italy, Renaissance, Nonfiction, Art History, 16th Century

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Peter Burke is a British historian and professor. He was educated by the Jesuits and at St John's College, Oxford, and was a doctoral candidate at St Antony's College. From 1962 to 1979, he was part of the School of European Studies at Sussex University, before moving to the University of Cambridge, where he holds the title of Professor Emeritus of Cultural History and Fellow of Emmanuel College. Burke is celebrated as a historian not only of the early modern era, but one who emphasizes the relevance of social and cultural history to modern issues. He is married to Brazilian historian Maria Lúcia Garcia Pallares-Burke.

Reviews

[Jan-Maat]

At the end of the book Burke helpfully tells us "I began work on this book, in the late 60s, with the idea of juxtaposing the ideas of Jacob Burckhardt & those of Karl Marx, criticizing and rejecting where criticism and rejection were needed and attempting a synthesis. " (p.255) . This was helpful because otherwise I would have been at a complete loss to say what this book was other than an introduction to the Renaissance which was unusually slanted towards the historiography. Having said that I wonder what happen ed to Burke's original idea, plainly from reading the book it did not work out, this is not a synthesis of a Burckhardtian and a Marxist perspective but rather a histographically rich dance through some issues, or themes in Italian Renaissance history which at times is a bit frustrating, or depending on your point of view, rich. I'll give an example to explain the contradiction, at one point Burke explains that as a consequence of remaining independent despite rivalry with Milan, that Florence began to adopt certain characters as symbolic of the city; specifically St. George, David and Goliath, and Judith (preferably cutting off the head of Holofernes). Therefore if we see works of Art with these themes created in Florence , at least during a republican phase, then we can understand them as being political statements in addition to any other usage they might have such as religious or luxury consumption. That's all very interesting and enjoyable however at a later stage Burke tells us that we don't know enough about Donatello (among others) to be able to draw conclusions about why they created certain art works or chose the subjects they did, which is a reasonable conclusion but less exciting and incisive than the earlier confident political reading. On another occasion Burke tells us that Venus was understood by humanists as representing humanity, I am not sure if this helps us to better understand Botticelli's Primavera

I would recommend this as a good introduction to the Renaissance, but upon reflection it does not define what the Renaissance was, nor where or when it was either, so really it's a book that will work more for you if you already have a idea of the Renaissance in mind before you start, which reminds me of a story that Burke tells about Jacob Burckhardt, whose The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy is a classic. Anyhow Burckhardt in that book linked the renaissance to the birth of individualism, but in later life he changed his mind and remarked to some crony or other: "you know so far as individualism is concerned I hardly believe in it any more but I don't say so; it gives people so much pleasure" (p.197) or as he said himself Ach wisse Si, mit dem Individualismus, i glaub ganz nimmi dra, aber i sag nit; si han gar a Fraid ibid . And reading I felt there was a strong element of that in Burke's book as a whole - do we want our ideas of the renaissance challenged? Maybe we prefer to cling to our myths like those of Harry Lime in the film version of The Third Man, which is to say Orson Wells ad lib' ing.

Burke, at least in this book, does not leave us with a synthesis of Marc and Burkehardt; but there is a continual clever tickling at fixed ideas about renaissance Italy - a seeking to loosen the limpets off the rocks or to talk Harry Lime down off his Ferris wheel. Or to put it another way Burke is saying all the way through ' It was a bit more complicated than that, in fact it as probably even a bit more complicated than I am suggesting '.

This is rather nicely born out in a late section in which Burke runs through various 'start' dates that have been suggested for the Renaissance like the struggle between Milan and Florence or the fall of Constantinople and then bursts each one in turn. This makes for an interesting book that is particularly rich on the historiography but at the same time leaves the reader with the collapsed blocks, or fallen cards of mixed metaphors flooding the page and bursting into flame of dozens of well loved theories. This is fantastic for the keen student in search of a research project because a common theme here how much remains unknown, and perhaps there are still archives to be sifted through, or price indices constructed, works of art to be dated and so on that might illuminate the situation in and around fifteenth century Italy.

Burke includes comparisons with fifteenth century Flanders and Genroku era late seventeenth century Japan, both of which seem very worth while but are irritatingly short, just a couple of pages each - Burke surely could have made more of this.

Still very interesting and enlightening, though tragically only illustrated in black and white.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I 'stole' this book from my son’s bookshelf and I think that is where it mainly belongs: My son majored in history and he read Peter Burke’s work for an exam at University. ‘The Italian Renaissance’ is rather written for a student or scholar in (social) history than for a layperson who takes pleasure in reading about the Renaissance. Even though the writing is clear and concise, it is also bone-dry and somewhat overwhelming: Burke evaluates the lives of 600 painters, sculptors, architects, writers, humanists, scientists and musicians and gives detailed information on their social background, their patrons and the socio-political environment of these days. Again, for this reader it was a bit too much information, but I can understand how a historian or a sociologist may enormously profit from all this knowledge.

Having said that, I would like to emphasise that Burke’s book is a valuable source for the interested layperson as well: I gained a precious insight into the different backgrounds of various artists and a good overview of the socio-political structures which made this period of artistic prosperity possible. It is intriguing to learn that successfully surmounted political crisis often were a 'stimulus to the arts' not only in Renaissance Italy but also in Elizabethan England and Ancient Greece - that the milieu of most artist was 'urban and dominated by craftsmen', whereas poets/writers had usually a more noble background. Burke also cites and compares the ideas of historians such as Jacob Burckhardt or Marc Bloch - and Giorgio Vasari who was apparently the first European to write a book about the lives of various artists. We learn a lot about the organization of workshops in Renaissance Italy and how they sometimes inhibited individual creativity. All in all it was a satisfying read and I can recommend it to everyone who is eager to learn more about this important period in European history. I am now ready for more reading about the Renaissance, maybe something less scholarly and a bit more pleasurable.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skończyłam!! 😌 Wymagająca lektura, aczkolwiek ciekawa. Uwielbiam poczucie humoru autora, a także styl jego pisania, prosty w odbiorze i logiczny składniowo. Oby zostało mi coś po niej w głowie.

[Stef Smulders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very scholarly and rather dry. Same structure in each chapter: statement - examples, statement - examples. No real conclusion at the end.

[Marc Lamot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great introduction to Renaissance Italy. Focuses on the social background of the new developments in the Arts: because studying the intentions of artists and writers is not sufficient; Burke puts his view against Geistesgeschichte (ideas) and the Marxist point of view. Part II is more interesting than part I, but the end is rather confusing, because Burke suddenly formulates very different hypotheses.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good Renaissance textbook. Nothing revolutionary, but Peter Burke is a good writer. He focuses largely on 'elite' culture here, particularly fine art. He also challenges the traditional associations of the Italian Renaissance: increased realism, secularism, and individualism. While he admits that each of these have a certain amount of truth to them, they're pretty flawed as guiding concepts, particularly the latter two. There's a lot of attention to patronage networks and the spiritual grounding of paintings that look, at first glance, to be secular.

It's an interesting read, but Burke's Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe is more fun.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good introduction--I especially liked the first section in which Burke analyzes the backgrounds of the different artists, writers, etc. What class did they come from? What professions did their fathers hold? The next section analyzes patronage and patrons and breaks them down into types.

[Jordy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leerzaam, maar ook veel droge informatie. Burke was op zoek naar een methodologie tussen Burckhardt en Marx hun ideeën in, maar heeft geen van hun theorieën echt uitgewerkt. Het uiteindelijke resultaat is een mengeling van scherpe observaties en open deuren.

Zo schrijft Burke zeker verhelderend over de afkomst van kunstenaars in de Italiaanse stadsstaten. Zijn claim dat kinderen van ambachtslui op een manier betrokken raakten bij de kunsten en de vaardigheden daarvoor, klinkt aannemelijk. De oorspronkelijke afkeer van de adel om hun creatieve kant op te zoeken, is ook te onderbouwen.

Wat vooral jammer is, is dat er al in het jaar van uitgave weinig nieuws onder de zon werd gebracht. Dat kooplieden vanuit hun beroepsveld belangrijk waren als mecenassen, is iets wat de lezer zich vooraf ook kon bedenken. De conclusie komt over alsof hij veel later is geschreven dan de rest van het boek. De plotse interesse voor de Nederlanden en Japan in de conclusie is moeilijk om te volgen. Als Burke dit op het einde had willen doen, had hij deze vergelijkingen als rode draad in zijn boek moeten verwerken. De lezer kan er nu geen chocola van maken.

De illustraties in het boek komen op mij enigszins over als ongelukkig gekozen en geplaatst. In het boek worden vele schilderijen, beelden etc. genoemd wat het moeilijk maakt om de gekozen illustraties in Burke zijn verhaal te plaatsen. Zonder toelichting van de schrijver blijft het doel van de gekozen illustraties vaag.

Concluderend, geeft dit boek een redelijk standaard overzicht van de Renaissance zoals men in het heden min of meer tegen deze ontwikkeling aankijkt. De schrijver worstelt door het boek heen echter met zijn methodologie en probeert dat deels te verhullen door veel namen en titels door elkaar heen te noemen. Geen aanrader voor de 'leek', gezien de auteur geen of weinig rekening houdt met historische context die de lezer wel of niet als voorkennis heeft.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living in the Venice area and having just visited Florence I felt compelled to further deepen my knowledge of the Italian Renaissance, and this book was exactly what I was looking for.
The author's analysis of the many factors that contributed to making Italy, but mostly Florence and Venice, the center of the European Renaissance is very enlightening.
He analyses the social backgrounds of the artists, their patrons, and the socio-political and cultural environment in which they grew.
He describes how the position of the artists in the society evolved from the beginning of the 15th century when they were considered as mere "craftsmen" till the end of the 16th century when they became "artists."
A lot of painters, sculptors, writers, humanists, scientists and their artworks are cited in the book as well the names of cites or areas where they used to live or work. Though very interesting, I wouldn't recommend the book to every layperson interested in the Italian Renaissance if they do not have at least a basic knowledge of the prominent Italian artists and Italian geography, otherwise it could end up being a rather hard read.

[Mark Mazelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could hardly put this book down. Burke is organized and logical. He tells you where he's going, why it's important and then delivers.

[John David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book might not be the particular kind that most readers are seeking out, especially considering the title, which makes it seem like it’s all about the artistic and cultural achievements of the Italian Renaissance. You won’t read the symbolism of the elongated figures in Parmigianino or Ghiberti’s doors at the Florence Baptistery. These and other similar considerations sometimes loom in the margins, but the bulk of the book is dedicated to a methodological study of how Italian politics, economics, and society allowed for the innovations in literature, painting, architecture, and music that we see develop in this time period. Burke isn’t offering up a Marxist analysis here at all, but imagining something like Marx’s base and superstructure here might be a good comparison: the “base” is made up of the social forces and relations of production (like labor conditions, guilds, kinds of patronage systems, et cetera) that allow for the specific kinds of artistic achievements that we see develop. It is precisely this social and cultural “base” that Burke is concerned establishing in this book.

To draw the conclusions that he is interested in, Burke hones in on a list of roughly 600 “uomini illustri” (famous men) – artists, scholars, writers, and humanists. This list is analyzed in several different ways: Where were they born? What did their fathers do? What was the extent of their education? Were their major patrons secular or religious? From there, he presents a series of topical chapters that analyze the data for the pertinent questions. For example, Chapter 3 (called “Artists and Writers”) compares and contrasts the levels of humanistic education between the two groups: artists, as it turns out, tended to have less of this type of exposure than writers.

The Italian Renaissance is often historically interpreted to be an important source of ideas about artistic individualism. While this might have been true later in the Renaissance, Burke argues, the times when painters and other artists were professionally associated with guilds tended to decrease the expression of that which we would eventually come to call “style.” Chapter 4 takes up the issue of patronage. Earlier on in the Renaissance, patrons exerted careful control over the artistic products that they commissioned, but as time wore on (into the sixteenth century) artists began to enjoy more intellectual independence regarding their subject matter. He also emphasizes the point that the artwork strictly as a means of aesthetic contemplation only comes along much later (probably in the eighteenth century). Rather, patrons presented artists with commissions to communicate religious ideas or practices to a largely illiterate broader public. Further chapters on iconography and worldviews – of artists, patrons, and the public at large – discuss some of the themes in art, and bring up the topic of artistic autonomy and individuality.

If this book could be said to have one drawback, it is that artists and writers are frequently mentioned for seemingly little more than the purpose of namedropping, which can occasionally render the prose on the tedious side. Strings of sentences like the following are not uncommon: “From the late fourteenth century, mechanical clocks came into use; a famous one was constructed at Padua to the design of Giovanni Dondi, physician-astronomer who was a friend of Petrarch, and completed in 1364. About 1450, a clock was made for the town hall at Bologna; in 1478, one for the Castello Sforesco in Milan; in 1499, one for Piazza San Marco in Venice; and so on. By the late fifteenth century, portable clocks were coming in. In Filarete’s utopia, the schools for boys and girls had an alarm clock (svegliatoio) in each dormitory. This idea at least was not purely utopian, for in Milan in 1463 the astrologer Giocomo de Piacenza had an alarm clock by his bed” (p. 189).

But if you can wade your way through prose like that, the amount you can learn from the book is well worth it. I read this because I have often seen it on syllabi for courses of Renaissance and early modern European history. It was written in the early 1970s, just as historians were just beginning to become seriously interested in not just literary and artistic production, but the cultural and social modes that allowed for that production to occur in the first place. For that alone, Burke’s opinions are worth reading if only to see how they influenced subsequent historians who are also concerned with those interstices of social, economic, cultural, and intellectual production.

[David Withun · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Manda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book in an effort to refresh my knowledge of the Renaissance for the purposes of teaching, and it worked well for that purpose. First published in the mid-1980s, this book is a great primer for someone who is already somewhat acquainted with the art of Renaissance Italy. It is divided systematically into chapters (such as the artist, taste, and patron & client) which makes for a fairly easy read. Burke doesn't focus on one area, which gives this book [roughly 250 pages] a very holistic feel. It would likely serve as a great complement to a course on the history of Renaissance Italy. He spends a good deal of time talking about how the Renaissance came to be, and examines several conceptions/misconceptions about the time period.

If you are an advanced student of art history, do not expect this book to be ground-breaking. The book mixes several methodologies (social history and marxist thought, to name a few) and the book shows its age a bit. Most of the material inside is probably now included in upper-level college art history courses, and certainly in graduate school courses. Nevertheless, I did read this book for pleasure (I did take SOME notes) and I enjoyed its content. I will certainly be keeping it on my shelf for further reference.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would love to give this book a higher rating because Burke did an immense amount of research for this, and it is full of interesting primary source tidbits. However, he had a hard time making any definitive statements despite his use of numbers and stats. The book is missing the rich nuances and meaty bites that come one would expect to find in a cultural history book.

I read this as part of a discussion group this semester, and one of our group members was reading the first edition (the rest of us read the 3rd edition). Despite a number of typos and a lack of bibliography or full index, Burke had a lot more of that cultural meat in his first edition. So I would recommend getting your hands on a copy of the 1972 first edition of this work, if you're interested in reading Burke's work.

[Dimitri · Rating 2 out of 5]

What was the social background of the Renaissance artist? How did he receive his education and training ? What was the influence of their environment, the Italian cities & the Papal states? What was the contemporary taste & judgement of our "greatest masterpieces" ? And most importantly, how important was classic patronage vs the nascent capitalism - captured by Burke in his trademark word "conspicuous consumption ?

It's a balanced background study to Renaissance art. The conclusions feel so familiar that in the end there are little surprises. I guess that's the best reason to speak of a 'landmark', 25 years later and counting.

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid introductory text on the Italian Renaissance and the culture and society that shaped it, Burke does a really good job at giving treatment to many aspects of this highly complex move in European history. The book itself is arranged categorically, as each chapter represents a different study of the movement itself, for example, 'The Use of Works of Art' vis a vis 'Taste.' Although the text can get quite tedious at times, as the black and white reprints of Renaissance art make for doleful uncompilable facsimiles, the text serves its purpose, and is a nice collection to have on the bookshelf of any historian or artist alike.
Brent McCulley (10/24/13)

[Medicinefckdream]

well this book took me forever and i skimmed a good bit but the good news is it uses the word "doge" a lot which got me thinking of the "doge" meme, and also "gonfalon" which made me think of granfalloon from kurt vonnegets book. welp

[Lavinia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sheeeesh I thought this book would never end! My solution for bearing the boredom was simply to read from it only half an hour a day. While the topic is very interesting and I'm very fond of history, the writing was just boring :(

[Andrew Volpe]

Renaissance Art course book, Westfield State College, 1999/2000

[Pedro · Rating 4 out of 5]

é um livro engraçado sobre o renascimento, tem alguma informação prática e muita biografia de consulta!

[Priscilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Burke foi um dos expoentes da História Cultural e ainda hoje é referência para essa abordagem. Nesse livro, ele traz a formação e transformação da Renascença Italiana.

Embora não necessariamente Marxista, Burke tenta ao longo do livro conciliar as novas propostas artísticas com o momento vivido nas cidades, ditos centros de referência da arte, como Florença e Milão. Há relatos e descrições de obras e da vida de seus artistas. Alguns famosos mesmo na atualidade como Michelangelo e Donatelo, e outros que contribuíram ou divulgaram a arte.

A discussão sobre como ela era utilizada como parte do aparelho ideológico do Estado - ou das famílias que disputavam o poder é interessante, mas não extensa.

Esse volume pode ser visto como uma introdução a História da Arte; ele é ilustrado com reproduções de pinturas, xilogravuras e estátuas, enfim, a parte visual dele impressiona.

[Bracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Burke can express himself clearly and has done a solid job analyzing the societal themes and cultural characteristics of 1400-1600 Italy. Burke highlights the obvious intermixing of Christianity, art and culture. A key contribution, however, is when the author begins demonstrating the early stages of the reformation/renaissance thought transition. He shares this with a selection of facts and references to make the point. The book was academic and it took time to complete. I would recommend reading How Should We Then Live by Francis Schaeffer as a companion. This wasn't an easy read but after gaining a fair understanding of the political and historical background, it provides a stimulating overview.

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Burke revient sur l'histoire des intellectuels de la Renaissance, sur la façon dont elle a été domestiqué (c'est à dire, dans le contexte, faire son entrée dans la vie quotidienne). Il montre qu'il ne s'agit ni complètement d'une rupture, ni d'une continuité. Il montre les influences de la culture juive, et arabe sur la Renaissance européenne.
Pour Burke la Renaissance est polycentrique, et on peut même, pour reprendre une formule de Jacques le Goff, parler de "longue Renaissance". En effet, l'héritage de la Renaissance (l'humanisme, l'enseignement du latin) continue jusqu'au début du XIXème siècle, ou l'enseignement du latin et du grec est peu à peu remplacé par l'enseignement de matières plus moderne, issus de l'arrivée de la science.

[Dirk Hennebel · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the Dutch-edition blurb says Peter Burke approaches Italian Renaissance art in its relation to its socio-economic (marxist-inspired) context as well as in its own right (Geistesgeschichte-like). Chapters on artists and writers, patron and client, applications of art, tastes in the field of art, music and literature and iconography are supplemented by chapters on world views, organisation of society and socio-cultural changes. This approach leads to a comprehensive views of the two relevant centuries. Soms additional (colour) illustrations of major works discussed may make the work even more attractive and appealling.

[Chris Lund · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like if you're somebody who already has a somewhat substantial amount of knowledge about the Italian Renaissance and you're looking for an in-depth, technical, academic analysis, then this may be the book for you, but if you're like me and you're looking for something a little more basic and introductory, this is not a wise choice. I'm sure plenty of this material is quite impressive in the right context, but I found it mostly to be dense, dry and boring and very difficult to get through.

[Nal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super, chociaż porównanie kultury Włoch vs Niderlandów vs Japonii nie tyle bez sensu co można było powiedzieć więcej (ale to byłby temat na zupełnie inną książkę)

Miałam ją na zaliczenie i możecie wierzyć mi lub nie, ale powiedziałam "fajna książka, czytałam pamiętniki wampirów" i dostałam 5. Nie jest to ważne dla recenzji po prostu chciałam się pochwalić

(Kultura i społeczeństwo w renesansowych Włoszech jest lepsza niż pamiątki wampirów)

[Bart Verbanck · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part, about the arts, artists and their milieu is excellent.

The second part, about the wider society, feels much more rushed and shallow.

Comparing the Italian Renaissance with similar periods in the Netherlands and Japan, for instance, could be the subject for a whole book in itself, rather than the five measly pages that now conclude this one.

[Loke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aningens torr kanske, men informativ och källkritisk.

[mercè · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Julia]

Burke has very quickly become one of my new favourite authors. Nothing else to add. (Yes this was my third Burke book in a row, I promise it is voluntary and I will read something else next).