Reviews for The Renaissance: A Short History

The average rating for The Renaissance: A Short History based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-11-22 00:00:00 Carla Gant I enjoyed this overview of that most fascinating historical periods. It might also be subtitled "How 15th Century Italy Woke Up the World." Johnson (whose "History of Christianity" I read decades ago) gives a basic overview of the period, including technological and economic conditions. Then he addresses the "awakening" in four separate sections: literature, sculpture, architecture, and painting. Since it's a "short history" I was often left wanting more; but I enjoyed his overview of the relationships between people and events, and how the Renaissance unfolded and expanded. He talks about the Renaissance being "primarily a human event" and introduces the lives of the great men who were a part of it. It got to be annoying in the audiobook that every character's name was followed by the years of his birth and death. Oh, and it's hard to listen to this kind of book without pictures! I tried to imagine the buildings and works of art in my mind, but there were many where I really wanted to be looking at a photo while the item was described. Nevertheless, a worthwhile book as an introduction or review.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-04-08 00:00:00 Patrick Brier Reall enjoyed this brief, but detailed and informative, history of Renaissance. The book is clearly categorized into the history of literature, sculptures, architecture, art and concludes with the transmission of Renaissance through Europe and its decline in Italy. One thing I noticed a bit (maybe too often) was how much of his own personal opinion the author mixed with the facts. Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci seemed to sometimes be quite criticized for what the author thought of them as people, and less on their work - their art - while other artists were highlighted because the author seemed to appreciate them more as people. But then again, I didn't expect this work to be 100% objective, and so far as one can recognize opinions as such and not clear facts, I don't have too many problems with it. Even though Michelangelo and Leonardo are (one of) my favourite artists from the era. 3.5