Masters of Venice: Renaissance Painters of Passion and Power

About this book

Featuring fifty masterworks by Mantegna Giorgione Titian Veronese and Tintoretto this stunning book examines the brilliant painters who transformed the art of Renaissance Venice. Among the singular moments in the evolution of Western art the Venetian Renaissance forged an artistic vocabulary of dazzling virtuosity. Celebrating the poetic potential of color and beauty observed in nature Venetian painters of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries transcended the spatial textural and emotional realism of their predecessors to create works unsurpassed in their sensual depictions velvety surfaces and unique and glorious treatment of light. Focusing on canonical works from Viennas Kunsthistorisches Museum (one of the worlds four great imperial museums along with the Hermitage the Louvre and the Prado) this books lavish illustrations and illuminating essays offer a rich introduction to the treasures of the Venetian Renaissance. Among the spectacular artworks are Mantegnas tortured Saint Sebastian Titians enigmatic Bravo (The Assassin) and sumptuous Dane and a rare group of paintings by the elusive Giorgione including Portrait of a Young Woman (Laura) and The Three philosophers. The book also includes exemplary works by Veronese Palma ecchio Bordone and Bassano among others revealing the full range of Venetian accomplishment in the Renaissance era.