Johnson has succeeded in packing a great deal of intelligent discussion into a very limited space. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book for anyone, from teenagers onwards, requiring an introduction to current views on Renaissance Art

Botticelli, Holbein, Leonardo, Dürer, Michelangelo: the names are familiar, as are the works, such as the Last Supper fresco, or the monumental marble statue of David. But who were these artists, why did they produce such memorable images, and how would their original beholders have viewed these objects? Was the Renaissance only about great masters and masterpieces, or were "mistresses" also involved, such as women artists and patrons? And what about the 'minor'-pieces that Renaissance men and women would have encountered in homes, churches and civic spaces? This exciting and stimulating volume will answer such questions by considering both famous and lesser-known artists, patrons and works of art within the cultural and historical context of Renaissance Europe.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Geraldine A. Johnson is University Lecturer in History of Art at the University of Oxford, and a fellow of Christ Church, Oxford. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University. Her publications range from studies of Italian Renaissance art to considerations of contemporary American sculpture, and from women patrons in Early Modern Europe to the history of photography. Her work has appeared in important journals such as The Burlington Magazine, The Art Bulletin, Art History, and Renaissance Quarterly. In 1997, Cambridge University Press published a prize-winning essay collection she co-edited titled Picturing Women in Renaissance and Baroque Italy. The same press also published another volume she edited in 1998 titled Sculpture and Photography: Envisioning theThird Dimension. At present, she is completing a book on the tactile and visual reception of sculpture in Early Modern Italy.