Earthly Delights: A History of the Renaissance

The author provides lots of valuable information about the art of Florence, accompanied by many illustrations. A fun read.

I was disappointed with the volume. I'm not a professional art historian, but I read a lot of art history, go to museums, and so on. The illustrations in the book are, for the most part, the usual suspects that appear in most (all?) studies of Renaissance art. The text explicates the visual examples in informal, even chatty prose, which is fine, but covering at least 2 centuries (15th-16th) in ca. 300 pages also full of the many visual examples, does not allow space for a lot of depth in the discussions. As I said in my "headline,' the book is NOT a "history of the Renaissance," but a considered appreciation of SOME of the visual art from 2 centuries of that period. All that said, the book could serve very well for an introductory academic class or as a present for a layperson who likes art.

Enjoyable account

The author is modern so doesn’t adopt the reverential hushed tones that many others past and present do. He is more forthright on the sexuality of Leonardo Da Vinci for example but it probably needs to be mentioned as it effected his art. A very good tour d’horizon of the subject which gives equal billing to Flanders and the northern territories where the renaissance can be said to have been invented, or perhaps more accurately the new painting techniques and style emerged before it was further refined in Italy. A thoroughly well written book that reads very easily so should appeal to newcomers to the subject and more seasoned enthusiasts.

This is a detailed work that rethinks a number of fundamental issues in the face of current attempts to write off the traditional idea of the Renaissance. Everyone interested in art history should read it.

The thematic description of the renaissance is fascinating and unlike most other art books. However the illustrations are poorly printed, often too small and the paper is cheap so details described in the text are often impossible to see. Art works which are described in detail are often not shown so the points made are lost - bad editing or meanness by the publisher.

This is a good over view of the renaissance both in Italy and the Low Countries. However, it lacks in depth details of the art created because of its wide remit.