Synopses & Reviews
This remarkable and beautiful new volume examines twenty-three major artworks that were produced to decorate Sta. Maria del Fiore in Florence, better known to visitors as the Duomo, or cathedral, in the first decades of the 1400s.
These include nine works alone by Donatello, considered one of the greatest and most influential Italian sculptors, including his masterpiece Lo Zuccone, and The Evangelist John which inpsired Michelangelo. There is also a detailed discussion of Ghiberti's gilded bronze Gates of Paradise, created for the Eastern end of the cathedral , which includes remarkable shots of the doors before, and after, their current restoration.
With four chapters by leading scholars, and a catalog presenting over fifty superb color plates of the artworks, beautifully photographed by leading art photographer Antonio Quattrone, this volume explains how these masterpieces had a profound impact on the art of the Italian Renaissance.
This is a major new scholarly survey, and will become a seminal text on the artistic imagination, creativity, and skill of the Florentine Renaissance.
Mons. Timothy Verdon is the director of both the Diocesan Office of Sacred Art and Cultural Heritage Ecclesiastical and the Museo dell'Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore.
Daniel Zolli is a doctoral candidate in Harvard University's history of art and architecture department.
Amy R. Bloch is assistant professor of art history at the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY).
Marco Ciatti is director of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence.
Review
"The copiously illustrated catalog is excellent"and#151;Christopher Knight,
LA Times"Superb catalog"and#151;Barrymore Laurence Scherer,
The Wall Street JournalReview
"Delivers impressively sensitive images that capture the subtle textures and gestures of the sculptures"and#151;
Canadian Art"The copiously illustrated catalog is excellent"and#151;Christopher Knight,
LA Times"Superb catalog"and#151;Barrymore Laurence Scherer,
The Wall Street JournalSynopsis
A major survey on both the art and decoration of Sta. Maria del Fiore in Florence, and early Renaissance art.
Synopsis
A major new survey which presents twenty-three key works from the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence, including masterpieces by Donatello, Della Robbia, and Ghiberti. Leading authors in Florentine and Renaissance art highlight the hugely profound and lasting influence these artists had on the wider art of the Renaissance.
Synopsis
Publication accompanies the opening of the exhibition on the art of the Museo dellOpera di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, at the Museum of Biblical Art in New York, in February 2015. It is a ground-breaking examination of the art and decoration of Sta. Maria del Fiore in Florence, better known to international visitors as the Duomo, much of which has not been seen in the USA before.
With four essays by leading scholars plus a catalogue of 23 works, it features masterpieces that had a profound and lasting influence on the art of the Florentine (and wider Italian) Renaissance, and serves as a major new survey of early Renaissance art. Featured works by Donatello include Lo Zuccone (which the artist considered to be one of his best works), The Evangelist John carved for the facade of the cathedral between 1408 and 1413 and an inspiration for Michelangelos Moses, and the highly dramatic Sacrifice of Isaac.
The main colour plates of the artworks have been shot by leading art photographer Antonio Quattrone.
About the Author
Timothy Verdon is Director of the Museo delland#8217;Opera del Duomo and Professor of Art History at the Stanford University Florence Center. He is Canon of Florence Cathedral and Director of the Office for Church Heritage of the Archdiocese of Florence. His publications include
Francesco dand#8217;Assis negli Affreschi di Giotto, and the three-volume
La cattedrale e la cittand#224;:saggi sul Duomo di Firenze. Atti del VII centenario del Duomo di Firenze, for which he was co-editor.
Daniel M. Zolli is a doctoral candidate in Harvardand#8217;s History of Art and Architecture Department, where he is completing a dissertation on Donatelloand#8217;s workshops.
Amy R. Bloch is Assistant Professor of Art History at the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY). She has published essays on Ghiberti, Donatello, and the decoration of the Florence baptistery, and her book on Ghibertiand#8217;s Gates of Paradise is forthcoming with Cambridge University Press.
Marco Ciatti is Superintendent of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, an institution of the Italian Ministry of Culture and world leader in the field of art restoration. He is also director of the Opificioand#8217;s Conservation Laboratory for Easel Paintings and Textiles and teaches history and theory of conservation.
Stefano Nicastri is an architect and art historian who has collaborated for many years with the Italian Ministry of Cultureand#8217;s Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione in the areas of Renaissance and Baroque art and architecture.
Table of Contents
Sponsor Statement
Foreword by Richard P. Townsend, Director, Museum of Biblical Art, New York
Foreword by Franco Lucchesi, President, Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore
Florence Cathedral: Renaissance Sculpture, Sacred Scripture by Timothy Verdon
"...with immense diligence and discipline": Lorenzo Ghiberti's North Doors and the Opificio delle Pietre Dure's Conservation and Restoration Project by Marco Ciatti
Lorenzo Ghiberti, From the Early Workshop to the Gates of Paradise by Amy Bloch
Donatelloand#8217;s Visions: The Sculptor at Florence Cathedral by Daniel Zolli
The Catalogue
The New Museo delland#8217;Opera del Duomo by Timothy Verdon
Bibliography
Board Members and Staff
Acknowledgments
Index