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University of California Press

About the Book

Chronicling the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and journeying from the Piazza San Marco to the villas of the Veneto, this vivid and authoritative survey of architecture, sculpture, and painting offers a rich perspective on the history and artistic achievements of Renaissance Venice. Distinguished scholar Loren Partridge examines the masterpieces of Venice’s urban design, civic buildings, churches, and palaces within their distinctive cultural and geographic milieus, exploring issues of function, style, iconography, patronage, and gender. Readers will also discover fascinating in-depth analyses of major works of such artists as Giovanni Bellini, Carpaccio, Giorgione, Palladio, Tintoretto, Titian, and Veronese. Designed to appeal to students and travelers alike, this essential guide to the art and architecture of Renaissance Venice brings La Serenissima to life as never before.

About the Author

Loren Partridge is Professor Emeritus of Art History and Italian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. His many books include Art of Renaissance Florence, 1400–1600; Michelangelo, "The Last Judgment": A Glorious Restoration; The Art of Renaissance Rome, 1400–1600; and Michelangelo: The Sistine Chapel Ceiling. He has been honored by Fulbright, Kress, Guggenheim, and Getty fellowships; grants from the American Academy in Rome and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton; and chairmanship of the departments of both History of Art and Art Practice at the University of California, Berkeley.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

PROLOGUE

I. FIFTEENTH-CENTURY VENICE
INTRODUCTION
1. CIVIC ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM
2. CHURCHES
3. DUCAL TOMBS
4. FREESTANDING PUBLIC SCULPTURE
5. ALTARPIECES
6. CONFRATERNITIES
7. PALACES
8. NONNARRATIVE DEVOTIONAL PAINTING
9. NARRATIVE DEVOTIONAL PAINTING
10. PORTRAITS OF MEN
11. PORTRAITS OF WOMEN

II. SIXTEENTH-CENTURY VENICE
INTRODUCTION
12. CIVIC ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM
13. FREESTANDING PUBLIC SCULPTURE
14. CHURCHES
15. ALTARPIECES
16. DUCAL TOMB
17. REFECTORIES
18. CONFRATERNITIES
19. PALACES
20. NONNARRATIVE DEVOTIONAL PAINTING
21. NARRATIVE DEVOTIONAL PAINTING
22. SECULAR PAINTING
23. PORTRAITS OF MEN
24. PORTRAITS OF WOMEN
25. HALLS OF STATE
26. VILLAS OF THE VENETO

CONCLUSION: PATRONAGE

Timeline
Glossary
Selected Bibliography
List of Illustrations
Picture Credits
Index

Reviews

"Delightful and convenient . . . rich and readable . . . A valuable contribution and a model piece of art historical synthesis, the text is as well written as the project is deftly conceived."
CHOICE
“Throughout the book, Partridge masterfully interweaves close formal and stylistic analysis with thorough treatments of these works’ iconography, patronage, and relation to civic ritual, local history, and broader trends in spirituality and literature.”
Renaissance Quarterly
“Thorough, thoughtful, and engaging, Art of Renaissance Venice 1400–1600 offers an exacting survey of art and architecture in Venice across two extraordinary centuries. Working both chronologically and by genre, Loren Partridge situates Venetian art within its broader cultural, political, and religious context. The book will be a useful undergraduate teaching text, and it will also appeal to the general reader interested in learning more about a dynamic period in the history of Western art.” —Meryl Bailey, Mills College

“Like his surveys of Renaissance art in Rome and Florence, Loren Partridge’s new book on Venice is an unmatched landmark achievement: comprehensive, authoritative, beautifully illustrated, indispensable for anyone seriously interested in the art, architecture, and culture of Renaissance Venice.” —Randolph Starn, Professor of History and Italian Studies, University of California, Berkeley

“Loren Partridge draws in the reader by bringing to life how these works would have been experienced, not just seen. This book takes us through streets, into chapels, over bridges, up grand stairways, into vast halls, and through small, domestic spaces. It shows us how the three-dimensional qualities of buildings—inside and out—would have structured the experiences and interactions of a period user, how paintings could engage in call-and-response across a room, and how sculptures could literally put viewers in their place.” —Patricia L. Reilly, Swarthmore College

Awards

  • 2015 Outstanding Academic Title, Choice