The Penguin Book of the Renaissance (Penguin Classic History)

On the one hand it produced the tender work of Giotto and the brilliance of a Leonardo; on the other, it encompassed the atrocities of a Borgia, the fanaticism of a Savonarola and the cynicism of a Machiavelli. Civil disorders, political violence, religious discord and deep-seated corruption provided a setting in which genius flowered and where virtuosity, originality and an explosive energy shone through in politics, in art, in thought and even in murder. In this survey, the whole sweep of Renaissance achievement is portrayed and analyzed by Professor Plumb, assisted by a team of historians - including Kenneth Clark, Hugh Trevor-Roper and Garrett Mattingly - and by over 60 illustrations of contemporary masterpieces.