Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Looks at the Venetian paintings of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, explains how they expressed the social, cultural, and aesthetic values of the times, and discusses the style of the paintings.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

This well-illustrated inquiry examines individually and contextually the ``eyewitness'' paintings executed in Venice, ca. 1470-1530. Hung in government council chambers and religious lodges, these popular works depicted civic, diplomatic, and pious events of the day in a detailed but lyrical manner unique to the period. Their appeal derived from their surface beauty, lifelike portrayals, and inventive form as well as from their expression of contemporary social, cultural, and aesthetic values. Brown reconstructs the socio-political climate and visual culture that fostered these works, also offering a catalog of pre-1534 narrative painting cycles. For specialized collections. Robin Kaplan, The Information Group, Los Angeles (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Using the large, multiple-incident paintings of Carpaccio as a focus, Brown develops a subject that has not previously existed in the art historical literature--the Venetian genre of "eyewitness" narrative. In this handsome, impeccably researched book, the narratives of Carpaccio and related artists--Gentile Bellini, Giovanni Mansueti, and Lazzaro Bastiani--are analyzed both as a uniquely Venetian genre of artistic production and as important instruments of the Venetian social order. The argument is that early Renaissance Venetian narrative painting functioned as a cohesive force, turning potent historical legend into "fact" and celebrating the fiction of a unified, harmonious city. Bulking large in the discussion is the patronage of the Venetian scuole, charitable and fraternal organizations that operated as adjuncts to the religious and civic structure of the city. The complex history of the successive campaigns of history painting in the Grand Council Hall of the Palazzo Ducale, discussed as part of Venetian statecraft, is detailed with admirable clarity. The catalog brings together a wealth of original archival research to give an authoritative presentation of 22 Venetian narrative cycles of the early 14th through the early 16th centuries (only a fraction are still extant, and virtually all are relocated). With extensive photographic documentation and full supporting apparatus, this book is a must for all serious collections. It is a visual treat. -D. Pincus, University of British Columbia