Naples

This book examines works of visual art and architecture produced in the city of Naples between 1300 and 1600.

Marcia B. Hall (Edited by), Thomas Willette (Edited by)

9780521780001, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 April 2017

406 pages, 202 b/w illus. 36 colour illus.
28.7 x 22.5 x 2.7 cm, 1.66 kg

'Provides ample evidence of Naples's artistic importance. … Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.' A. L. Palmer, Choice

Naples was by far the largest urban center on the Italian peninsula during the early modern period, and in the years covered by this book, from the early 1300s to the early 1600s, its inhabitants witnessed vast programs of building and decoration spurred by the cultural needs of royal, ecclesiastical, and baronial elites. Yet the city's many beautiful churches and palaces, stone sculptures, fresco cycles, and altarpieces have not received the sustained attention in Anglophone scholarship that has been lavished for generations on other major centers of artistic production, such as Florence, Rome, or Venice. This book surveys the visual arts in Renaissance Naples, offering diachronic overviews of urban design, ecclesiastical architecture, painting, tomb sculpture, and palaces, along with a substantial introduction to the complex social and political history of the city.

Introduction: Naples in myth and history Ronald G. Musto
1. Giorgio Vasari's critique of art and patronage in Naples Thomas Willette
2. Urban design and public spaces Anna Giannetti
3. Ecclesiastical architecture and the religious orders Charlotte Nichols
4. Patrons and paintings from the Anjou to the Spanish Hapsburgs Serena Romano
5. Tombs and the ornamentation of chapels Tanja Michalsky
6. The residence of power Gérard Labrot
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Medieval European archaeology [HDDM], Medieval history [HBLC1], Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], European history [HBJD], Renaissance art [ACND], History of art: Byzantine & Medieval art c 500 CE to c 1400 [ACK], History of art / art & design styles [AC]