Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The catalogue of the major exhibition of the work of early Renaissance Italian artist Mantegna (1431-1506) at the Royal Academy of Arts, London (January-April 1992) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (May-July 1992). In addition to a detailed catalogue of the 154 remarkable works in the exhibition, the book contains essays that introduce the reader to this often misunderstood artist, his life and surroundings, his influential work as a printmaker, his painting techniques, and major influences on his work. 10x113/4 edition (unseen), $39.50. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This ambitious and extensive record of a recent exhibition adds significantly to the state of research, despite the appearance only six years ago of R. Lightbown's thorough monograph, Mantegna (CH, Jan'87). Arguably the most important non-Florentine artist of the Early Renaissance, Mantegna helped establish engraving, then in its infancy. A special feature here is the deservedly intense attention given to this fundamental innovation, too often shunted to the sidelines. There is also welcome technical analysis of Mantegna's unusual distemper paintings. New attributions are offered, and Mantegna's career is analyzed by leading scholars including David Chambers, the late Lawrence Gowing, Keith Christiansen, and Charles Hope. The illustrations are quite lavish, even more so in the slightly revised American edition than in the English (minor discrepancies in numbering catalog entries are duly noted). The bibliography is the most thorough readily available on the artist, and the index includes titles under artists' names. As inviting as a coffee-table book for browsing, this is also essential reading on Renaissance art. P. Emison University of New Hampshire