Titian And Venetian Painting, 1450-1590

by Bruce Cole

Overview

This up-to-date, well-illustrated, and thoughtful introduction to the life and works of one of the giants of Western Painting also surveys the golden age of Venetian Painting from Giovanni Bellini to Veronese and its place in the history of Western art. Bruce Cole, Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts at Indiana University and author of numerous bo

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367319168
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/13/2019
Pages:	292
Sales rank:	287,381
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Bruce Cole is Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts at Indiana University. A former Fellow of the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, he is the author of Giotto and Florentine Painting, The Renaissance Artist at Work, Italian Art, 1250-1500 and other books.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments — Venice, 1510 — Precursors — Giorgione, Sebastiano, and the Young Titian to c. 1510 — Titian: Early Success, 1516-1530 — Titian — Titian — Titian — Titian — Titian's Heirs

Editorial Reviews

Introduces the life and works of one of the giants of Western painting and surveys the golden age of Venetian painting and its place in the history of art. Discusses and explains many of Titian's major works from various points of view, and examines how Venetian painting of this period differed from painting elsewhere in Italy. Other topics are the development of modern portraiture, the uses of mythology, and Titian's use of color. Includes b&w and color illustrations. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

Scholarly and exacting, Cole delves into the history of Venetian painting to describe the influence of various masters on Titian's phenomenal talent. Do not look to this book for information about the artist himself; Cole excludes all but a few biographical details. What he does offer, however, is an intellectually rigorous and elegant assessment of the evolution of Titian's style, which was startlingly original. Titian's work was marked, even in his youth, by a distinct use of tonality to heighten the sense of light. In this, Cole considers the artist's work "unprecedented" and emphasizes the way in which Titian's evocation of illuminated space brought the picture plane toward the viewer, almost as an extension of physical reality. Cole considers this the key stylistic breakthrough but certainly not the only one: Titian also learned to evoke flesh and fabric with a rare sensuality and, in his startling compositions, gave his figures a dynamism and psychological weight that still compel attention. Titian was, in short, a genius, and without ever belittling his subject's talent, Cole thoughtfully contextualizes his work, and illustrates, quite literally, the cross-pollination of images during the 15th and 16th centuries. Initially inspired by Giovanni Bellini and Giorgione, Titian later turned to the work of Michelangelo and Raphael, studying their images without ever limiting himself to their solutions. While Titian's style "lacks the mathematical precision and clarity of the central Italian painters," Cole writes, "it gains in energy and majesty." By any measure, Titian's technical mastery was remarkable, as was his career: the artist lived well into his 80s and produced anextraordinary amount of work that had a profound impact on Western art up until the 20th century. While this may not be new art historical terrain, Cole's approach is forthright, illuminating, and utterly devoid of academic obfuscation. (8 color, 119 b&w illustrations, not seen) .

Kirkus Reviews