Search results for ""Author Elizabeth Cropper""

The A. W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts were begun in 1952 at the National Gallery of Art in order to bring the best in contemporary scholarship to the public. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the acclaimed series, the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts has published this handsomely illustrated documentary volume. The book tells the story of the genesis of the lectureship, featuring essays by a variety of contemporary scholars that discuss the first fifty lecturers—ranging from Jacques Maritain to Salvatore Settis and including such influential speakers as Anthony Blunt, Kenneth Clark, H. W. Janson, E. H. Gombrich, Kathleen Raine, Jacques Barzun, and Arthur Danto—their fields of expertise, and the subject matter and historical context for their talks. These graceful and balanced writings provide a vivid sense of the significance of the lectureship and its participants through commentary, critique, and lively personal anecdotes.

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Portraits, an inherently personal subject, provide an engaging entry point to an exploration of the politics, patronage, and power in Renaissance Florence The Medici family ruled Florence without interruption between 1434 and 1494, but following their return to power in 1512, Cosimo I de’ Medici demonstrated an unprecedented ability to wield culture as a political tool. His rule transformed Florence into a dynastic duchy and give Florentine art the central position it has held ever since. As Florence underwent these dramatic political transformations in the sixteenth century, portraits became an essential means of recording a likeness and conveying a sitter’s character, social position, and cultural ambitions. This fascinating book explores the ways that painters (including Jacopo Pontormo, Agnolo Bronzino, and Francesco Salviati), sculptors (such as Benvenuto Cellini), and artists in other media endowed their works with an erudite and self-consciously stylish character that distinguished Florentine portraiture. Featuring more than ninety remarkable paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and medals, this volume is written by a team of leading international authors and presents a sweeping, penetrating exploration of a crucial and vibrant period in Italian art. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (June 26–October 11, 2021)

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