Pater's graceful essays discuss the achievements of Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and other artists. The book concludes with an uncompromising advocacy of hedonism, urging readers to experience life as fully as possible. His cry of "art for art's sake" became the manifesto of the Aesthetic Movement, and his assessments of Renaissance art have influenced generations of readers. Unabridged republication of the fourth edition, as published by Macmillan and Co., London and New York, 1873.
Leonardo on Art and the Artist by Leonardo da Vinci Systematic grouped passages of Leonardo's writings concerning painting, focusing on problems of interpretation. More than an anthology, it offers a reconstruction of the underlying meaning of Leonardo's words. Introductions, notes, bibliography, reference materials. Over 125 black-and-white illustrations.
The Art of Fresco Painting in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance by Mrs. Mary P. Merrifield Recognized authority in the field discusses painting methods used by such masters as Alberti, Cennini, Vasari, and Borghini; also comments on causes of fresco destruction and how to restore works of art.
Laocoon: An Essay upon the Limits of Painting and Poetry by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Ellen Frothingham In this essay on the origins, forms, and influences of painting and poetry, Lessing helped frame modern conceptions of the artistic medium, and founded our modernist assumptions of the uniqueness of the individual arts.
The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli Classic, Renaissance-era guide to acquiring and maintaining political power. Today, nearly 500 years after it was written, this calculating prescription for autocratic rule continues to be much read and studied.
Principles of Art History by Heinrich Wölfflin Seminal modern study explains ideas beyond superficial changes. Analyzes over 150 works by masters. 121 illustrations.
