Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A two-volume work covering an extraordinary period in the history of art that produced some of the most famous artists of all time, including Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo.
Beginning with transitional Late Gothic artists such as Giotto, the biographies in The Encyclopedia of Italian Renaissance and Mannerist Art trace the evolution of the new modes of artistic expression, from scientific naturalism and the development of linear perspective to the exploration of new secular themes derived from Classical literature and mythology.
All three phases of Renaissance art are covers: early, high, and late (the latter period also known as Mannerist). Besides biographies on all types of artists, from [painters, illuminators, sculptors, and architects to printmakers and maiolica designers, patrons, and collectors, there are entries on styles, important art forms, cities, and in-depth surveys of all the fine and decorative art forms in Italy during the Renaissance and Mannerist periods.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

The first of the new series "Grove Encyclopedias of European Art," this title is a spin-off of Dictionary of Art (34v., CH, Jan'97). The series intends to provide more affordable one- to three-volume focused excerpts of the more popular areas from the parent set. Some articles from Dictionary of Art have been revised, others merely reproduced. Grove staff have updated the bibliographies with citations from Bibliography of the History of Art and Art Abstracts. This set includes 1,775 articles that cover major artistic developments in Italy, 1300-1600. Besides articles on artists, it includes information on collectors, writers, art types, building types, decorative arts, and Italian cities. Entries are arranged alphabetically, include cross-references, and have lavish illustrations, 1,000 in black and white and 200 in color. Recommended for libraries unable to afford the parent set. ; California State University, Fresno

Booklist Review

This is another in the Grove Library of Art, the publisher's spin-off from the magisterial 34-volume Dictionary of Art (1996). The library is organized into six separate series, covering ancient art, Asian art, African art, Australasian art, European Art, and art of the Americas. We reviewed two volumes from the last group, Encyclopedia of American Art before 1914 and Encyclopedia of Latin American and Caribbean Art, in our April 1, 2000, issue. Encyclopedia of Italian Renaissance and Mannerist Art covers major artistic developments in Italy during a particularly fertile period, from around 1300 to 1600. There are approximately 1,770 A^-Z entries derived from the parent set, accompanied by 1,000 black-and-white illustrations and a section containing almost 200 color plates. Among the topics treated here are the lives and works of Botticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian; the design and building of St. Peter's Basilica; the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling; the influence of important patrons, such as the Medici; and the arts in Florence, Siena, and Rome. Each article was sent to the original contributor to be reviewed and revised as needed. Additional updating has occurred in the bibliographies. The entry on Perugino, for example, now lists the catalog for the exhibition Pietro Perugino: Master of the Italian Renaissance, which took place at the Grand Rapids (Michigan) Art Museum in 1997. Many bibliographies include titles published as recently as 1999. Appendixes list the current location of each work of art mentioned, periodical titles cited in abbreviated forms in the bibliographies, standard reference books and series, and contributors. Though by no means inexpensive, these volumes will be welcomed by public and academic libraries that do not have the larger Dictionary of Art but want to provide a scholarly resource on Italian art of the period. Libraries owning the Dictionary may wish to add this and other volumes in the Grove Library of Art as more convenient guides to particular aspects of art history.