Flowers of the Renaissance


Book Description

Many favorite flowers, such as roses, irises, and lilies had long been endowed with a wealth of symbolic meanings. Renaissance artists, by embracing new methods of scientific observation, were able to portray them for the first time with an accuracy that made each species easily identifiable. --




Floral Contemporary


Book Description

Flowers are associated with all the important events in our lives, whether celebratory or commemorative, but they can also cheer our everyday existence and enliven the spaces around us. This book shows just how. Through the work of thirty-eight floral designers, we see ideas for flowers for every occasion, whether public - decorations for weddings, arrangements for banquets, installations for shops and hotels, accessories for fashion shows, exhibits for art shows - or private, in the form of simple but special displays for the home. Organized in alphabetical order, each florist is introduced with a short biography, then in their own words they explain the stories behind their floral arrangements. Illustrations include portraits of the florists, shots of works in progress and full-colour images of glorious finished displays. As a visual refreshment for stylists, florists and design professionals, and an indulgent treat for anyone who loves flowers or decorating their own space, this book is an inspirational confection.




The Medieval Flower Book


Book Description

In our modern world, the spiny-stemmed flowers, intertwined leaves, and delicate pink blossoms of the rubus fruticosus, or common blackberry bramble, might catch the eye of the casual observer or weekend gardener. Pleasant, prolific, and decorative, plants like the blackberry are looked upon as sources for harvest, landscape, and visual pleasure. To the medieval and Renaissance artist, however, these botanicals were far more. Part of a richly symbolic visual language culled from the classical era, their exquisite depiction in illuminated manuscripts of the age evoked fertility, conjured bad dreams, and even aligned itself with ancient wisdom. The popular and enduring appeal of flowers in medieval art and literature extended beyond simple botanical illustration; instead, flowers helped to tell countless stories without words through potent symbolic imagery. The Medieval Flower Book artfully presents an alphabetical collection of over one hundred of the major flowers that appear in medieval manuscripts--gathered with fascinating explanatory texts on their history, significance, and usage. The sumptuous reproductions that accompany each entry offer a visual reference to the symbolism of botanicals in medieval manuscripts that's beyond breathtaking in its appeal. An introductory section explaining the ancient roots of practical horticulture's expansion into cultural and spiritual realms not only places the volume in the context of gardening history, but gives the general reader insight into our enduring interest in these remarkable herbals. Widely appealing to all of those interested in flowers and gardening, the horticultural historian, and the student of visual culture and medieval history, The Medieval Flower Book is a fascinating and important primer on the beauty and language of florals. Extensively ranging through the canon of medieval botanicals--from acanthus and anemones to violets and wallflowers--this volume is the perfect gift for anyone interested in blossoms and blooms, and should thrill the everyday gardener and art collector alike.




The Flower of Paradise


Book Description

There is a striking similarity between Marian devotional songs and secular love songs of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Two disparate genres--one sacred, the other secular; one Latin, the other vernacular--both praise an idealized, impossibly virtuous woman. Each does so through highly stylized derivations of traditional medieval song forms--Marian prayer derived from earlier Gregorian chant, and love songs and lyrics from medieval courtly song. Yet despite their obvious similarities, the two musical and poetic traditions have rarely been studied together. Author David J. Rothenberg takes on this task with remarkable success, producing a useful and broad introduction to Marian music and liturgy, and then coupling that with an incisive comparative analysis of these devotional forms and the words and music of secular love songs of the period. The Flower of Paradise examines the interplay of Marian devotional and secular poetics within polyphonic music from ca. 1200 to ca. 1500. Through case studies of works that demonstrate a specific symbolic resonance between Marian devotion and secular song, the book illustrates the distinctive ethos of this period in European culture. Rothenberg makes use of an impressive command of liturgical and religious studies, literature and poetry, and art history to craft a study with wide application across disciplinary boundaries. With its broad scope and unique, incisive analysis, this book will open up new ways of thinking about the history and development of secular and sacred music and the Marian tradition for scholars, students, and anyone with an interest in medieval and Renaissance religious culture.




Gardens of the Renaissance


Book Description

Whether part of a grand villa or an extension of a common kitchen, gardens in the Renaissance were planted and treasured in all reaches of society. Illuminated manuscripts of the period offer a glimpse into how people at the time pictured, used, and enjoyed these idyllic green spaces. This illustrated volume explores gardens on many levels, from the literary Garden of Love and the biblical Garden of Eden to courtly gardens of the nobility, and reports on the many activities that took place there.




Portraits of the Renaissance


Book Description

Memling, Van Eyck, Antonello da Messina, Raphael, Holbein, Titian, Leonardo . . . these are the greatest names of the Renaissance which symbolize the ultimate in artistic achievement. Now their work is reproduced in this spectacular, luxury volume printed on cotton paper and exquisitely presented in a brown and turquoise linen case. Whether Italian, Flemish, or German, all were masters of the portrait, a style that was popular and much appreciated during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The genius of these artists allowed them to overcome the limits of the genre and inscribe the art of portraiture into the universal history of mankind. Sharply focused and featuring meticulously researched illustrations, this beautiful book is the first of its kind to shed light on some of the most familiar images in art history. 70 illustrations




Botanical Art


Book Description

Plants and flowers have always captured man's imagination, with their delicate harmonies and the perfection of their symmetrical forms. Over the centuries, the world of plants has stirred the aesthetic sense of many artists, who have approached the representation of the natural world with creative spirit. Art merged with science when man began to investigate Nature and her secrets with a critical spirit; botany and art then blended in a union that resulted in any number of splendid masterpieces. Guided by the accuracy of their observation, but also by a sense of wonder at the beauty of these botanical specimens, some of the greatest illustrators of the past have left us marvellous coloured images that portray the amazing wealth of the world's flora, from the most common species to the rarest varieties scattered in remote corners of the planet. This splendidly illustrated volume will guide the reader in discovering the golden era of botanical art. It is a journey through the centuries that illuminates the evolution of the techniques and the styles, and it offers a panorama of the most important artists who have captured the pure essence of the plant world, conveying its beauty to paper. Ranging from the first herbals dating from the Middle Ages to the florilegia that illustrate the species associated with specific regions or habitats, or from the artists who accompanied the great expeditions to every corner of the world. AUTHOR: Anna Laurent is an award-winning flora-focused author & artist. Her first book, Botanical Art from the Golden Age of Scientific Discovery, published by University of Chicago Press in 2016, explores 19th century educational classroom boards with research conducted in Prague, Berlin, London, Cambridge, and elsewhere. Organized by plant family, the book emulates a Victorian classroom while providing biographies of renowned illustrators and scientists. Previously, she was a contributing editor at Garden Design, where she wrote about the history of botanic illustration. Her forthcoming work will be featured in a new exhibition at Royal Botanic Garden Kew, London, and her award-winning 'Dispersal' photography series has exhibited across the United States.




Blood Water Paint


Book Description

"Haunting ... teems with raw emotion, and McCullough deftly captures the experience of learning to behave in a male-driven society and then breaking outside of it."—The New Yorker "I will be haunted and empowered by Artemisia Gentileschi's story for the rest of my life."—Amanda Lovelace, bestselling author of the princess saves herself in this one A William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist 2018 National Book Award Longlist Her mother died when she was twelve, and suddenly Artemisia Gentileschi had a stark choice: a life as a nun in a convent or a life grinding pigment for her father's paint. She chose paint. By the time she was seventeen, Artemisia did more than grind pigment. She was one of Rome's most talented painters, even if no one knew her name. But Rome in 1610 was a city where men took what they wanted from women, and in the aftermath of rape Artemisia faced another terrible choice: a life of silence or a life of truth, no matter the cost. He will not consume my every thought. I am a painter. I will paint. Joy McCullough's bold novel in verse is a portrait of an artist as a young woman, filled with the soaring highs of creative inspiration and the devastating setbacks of a system built to break her. McCullough weaves Artemisia's heartbreaking story with the stories of the ancient heroines, Susanna and Judith, who become not only the subjects of two of Artemisia's most famous paintings but sources of strength as she battles to paint a woman's timeless truth in the face of unspeakable and all-too-familiar violence. I will show you what a woman can do. ★"A captivating and impressive."—Booklist, starred review ★"Belongs on every YA shelf."—SLJ, starred review ★"Haunting."—Publishers Weekly, starred review ★"Luminous."—Shelf Awareness, starred review




The Flowering of Florence


Book Description

Published to coincide with an exhibition at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, of sixty-eight works of art, primarily from Florentine collections, The Flowering of Florence explores the close ties between art and the natural sciences in Tuscany as seen in the botanical renderings created in Florence for the Medici grand dukes from the late 1500s through the early 1700s. The catalog comprises an essay and checklist with reproductions of the exquisite works in the show. Examples include Jacopo Ligozzi's plant drawings in tempera on paper from the Uffizi Gallery, Giovanna Garzoni's fruit and flower paintings on vellum, and Bartolomeo Bimbi's later and much larger still-life paintings.




Jewels of the Renaissance


Book Description

Renaissance jewels are among the most alluring manifestations of an age that experienced the widening of horizons, from the Old World to the New. This volume overflows with luxurious imagery expressing the boundless creativity and spirit of the Age of the Renaissance. Yvonne Hackenbroch relates the tales of the jewels, the artists, and the patrons who commissioned them.