Reviews for Patronage in sixteenth-century Italy

The average rating for Patronage in sixteenth-century Italy based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-05-27 00:00:00 Vasaf Ch. Slightly overlapping with the companion volume (Patronages in Renaissance Italy: From 1400 to the early Sixteenth Century), I enjoyed this slightly more, and overall it has the same strengths and weaknesses. The book is at its best and most engaging when discussing history and the needs of powerful patrons and how this reflected into the art they acquired and acted as patrons for. At its worst when it has long sections just listing who bought what and when. It has some good plates, but given the topic is art could do with far more. It's one of those difficult to position books in that I suspect you have to be something of a knowledgeable person to get the best from it, but its is probably not quite enough for the true academic. Overall, excellently researched, well written and mostly well structured, if at times a little dry.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-05-20 00:00:00 Craig Cassidy An authoritative guide to renaissance art, and specifically the relationship between artists and patrons. I read this book for some research on a book I am currently writing and found it useful. Overall, I found the author tries to find the right balance - not really being for a specialist art historian, but more for the interested and educated layman. Generally, it achieves this, although it can be quite dry at times with long passages listing patrons and artists. I think it might have been better if the author packed in a little less, but explored a few individual stories a little more to give more colour. Where the book is at its best is when it shows the relationship between the historical events and trends of the period and the types of art, artists and what the patrons where trying to achieve by investing in it. It might also be helped by a few colour plates - I know this adds to the cost of a book, but as a book about art its always helpful to see that art. In summary, if you are interested in the art of this period and wonder why it takes the forms it does, or in patronage, then a worthy if occasionally dry read.