The Renaissance Hb

Defines the main characteristics of early, high, and northern Renaissance art and literature, focusing on thirteen artists, including Uccello, Michelangelo, and Brueghel, and three authors: Dante, Chaucer, and Cervantes.

Gr 5-8--As an introductory book to the art and writing of the Renaissance, this is an engaging volume. The title might lead readers to expect more than they will find in the selection of 13 artists and 3 writers, but the content is well organized and the selection of works is well thought out. A brief introduction is provided to the period and to Giorgi Vasari, who in the 16th century became the first man to write a book about Renaissance art. He is quoted throughout the text. The biographical sketches, one per chapter, are organized chronologically, beginning with the subject's early life, then influences, flowering of his career, and finally his later life and subsequent death. Each chapter includes a portrait of the artist or writer, a reproduction of one of his works, and a factoid box listing major works chronologically. Tabs at the outer edges of the pages are color-coded to separate the artists from the writers. A good purchase for schools needing basic art books.

Marilyn Fairbanks, East Junior High School, Brockton, MA

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