Art Treasures Of Italy

The richness and diversity of Italy's art heritage is unparalleled in the world and for centuries it has attracted thousands of travellers anxious to study Western art at its most vigorous source. This volume surveys the brilliance and range of the masterpieces housed in Italy's major collections.;Beginning with the magnificent statues and wall-paintings of antiquity, the author goes on to discuss the work of the finest late medieval, Renaissance and Baroque masters from Cimabue, Giotto and Leonardo to Michelangelo, Raphael and Bernini. Including the work of many other important masters, the book then discusses paintings by such great 18th-century Italian artists as Tiepolo and Canaletto. Besides describing the background to the creation of these works, the author examines the growth of distinct styles of Italian art and the forms of patronage which supported the artists and led eventually to the creation of individual collections. He also includes key works by foreign artists which have influenced the development of Italian art and are now in Italian museums and galleries.