Il libro di Blunt ricostruisce le motivazioni dell'arte cinquecentesca attraverso le ragioni concettuali e la ricerca di significati generali. È un'esposizione nitida e una rassegna brillante delle idee sull'arte di Michelangelo, Leonardo, Vasari. Ma non è solo un'utilissima descrizione di teorie artistiche fra la metà del Quattrocento e lo scorcio del Seicento. Blunt muove da una convinzione: che la ricca e complessa fioritura artistica del Rinascimento non può esser compresa col solo studio delle opere, perché le opere e le intenzioni degli artisti e il dibattito sulle arti costituiscono un tessuto continuo e variegato.
Known as Sir Anthony Blunt, KCVO, from 1956 to 1979, was a leading British art historian who in 1964, after being offered immunity from prosecution, confessed to having been a Soviet spy. A closely held secret for many years, his status was revealed publicly by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in November 1979, and he was stripped of his knighthood immediately thereafter. Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, and Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures. He was exposed as a member of the Cambridge Five, a group of spies working for the Soviet Union from some time in the 1930s to at least the early 1950s.
Renaissance aesthetics from humanist realism (Alberti and Leonardo) via Neoplatonism (Michelangelo) and courtliness (Vasari) to Counter Reformation (Trent and Mannerism).
I started this one a while back but it didn't grasp my attention. Upon second try, I do not understand why not. This was incredibly interesting and made me long for the days in Rome and Florence of last year. Blunt writes in a clear and concise manner, making artistic theory accessible. The essays fit well together and give you a better idea of the development of artistic theory over the given timespan. Now I have a better understanding of why particular kind of art was made and why it looks like the way it does.
Un testo utile per comprendere il legame tra eventi storici a cavallo tra la prima metà del 400 e la fine del 500 e sviluppo dei movimenti artistici in Italia.
jättetråkig, sämsta boken på hela konsthistorians litteraturlista - jag bryr mig inte om vad 1400-tals arkitekten si och så åt till frukost (eller vad den nu handlade om, den var så tråkig att det inte ens känns värt att försöka minnas)