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An Art Lover's Guide to Florence, by Judith Testa
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No city but Florence contains such an intense concentration of art produced in such a short span of time. The sheer number and proximity of works of painting, sculpture, and architecture in Florence can be so overwhelming that Florentine hospitals treat hundreds of visitors each year for symptoms brought on by trying to see them all, an illness famously identified with the French author Stendhal.
While most guidebooks offer only brief descriptions of a large number of works, with little discussion of the historical background, Judith Testa gives a fresh perspective on the rich and brilliant art of the Florentine Renaissance in An Art Lover’s Guide to Florence. Concentrating on a number of the greatest works, by such masters as Botticelli and Michelangelo, Testa explains each piece in terms of what it meant to the people who produced it and for whom they made it, deftly treating the complex interplay of politics, sex, and religion that were involved in the creation of those works. With Testa as a guide, armchair travelers and tourists alike will delight in the fascinating world of Florentine art and history.- Sales Rank: #58741 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Northern Illinois University Press
- Published on: 2012-09-15
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.00" h x .80" w x 6.00" l, .95 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 306 pages
- Used Book in Good Condition
Review
“An informative and erudite guide for art lovers, visitors or armchair travelers.”—Chicago Tribune
About the Author
Judith Testa is professor emerita at Northern Illinois University and author of Rome is Love Spelled Backward: Enjoying Art and Architecture in the Eternal City.
Most helpful customer reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful.
Storytelling At Its Finest
By E. Manning
Even though I love art and history, I often can't stand to read art history books, but this one is an exception. Most authors feel the need to describe every statue, every major and minor painting, every building and every single piece of pottery. In trying to cover everything, they cover nothing well and the result is exhausting. I'm so overwhelmed, I don't bother to finish the book.
But not this book. I consumed it eagerly.
Testa is up front in stating that her book will not cover every piece of art in Florence. Instead, she weaves beautiful, fascinating stories about the art she does choose to emphasize-- which is the greatest art the city has to offer. Instead of merely describing the works, she includes the historical and religious background and even salacious details that are part of the meaning of certain works.
I loved reading about the Florentines' struggle to avoid becoming the laughingstock of Italy with their cathedral's unfinished dome. I loved the gripping rivalry between Brunelleschi and Ghiberti and how childish they could be toward each other. And oh, the Medici. Testa tells their family travails in a way that makes you intimidated, envious, and happy they do not know your name. They appear not as distant historical figures, but as people like you and me, although with a LOT more money.
Testa's description of the Ospedale degli Innocenti, Europe's first foundling hospital, is heartbreaking and empathetic. She lets us see early attempts to take care of the less fortunate, often with mixed results. She ends the chapter with a Latin inscription from the building, adapted from the Bible's Psalm 27: "Our father and mother have forsaken us; the Lord has taken us in."
This author is a gifted historian and storyteller. I read the whole book and did not feel exhausted by the rich descriptions and fascinating stories or our cultural forebears.
I felt alive.
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful.
A Must Have For Florence Fans!
By TMLipp
For many, the word "art" is archetypically associated with the astonishingly beautiful Italian city of Florence. And for an author to voluntarily take on the monumental task (yes, the pun is intended) of attempting to not only discern what is to be deemed, but then to describe in delightful detail, what are Florence's greatest artworks, is a bit daunting to say the least. However, Judith Testa has dedicated her life to the study of great works of art and she not only chose to assume responsibility for such a job, but she succeeds brilliantly.
Testa's approach to this seemingly insurmountable assignment belies the fact that she is a Professor Emeritus of Art History. The book is so full of historical and analytical background on each piece she has chosen to examine, that it nearly bursts its cover. Yet all the information she gifts to the reader, feels exactly that - a gift - and doesn't once come near reading like a text book.
In order to set the stage on which the art she discusses is to be displayed, Testa's first chapter is an informative brief of Renaissance Florence. She skillfully untangles the powerful Medici family history and lays it out for us in such a way that we appreciate how their genealogical lineage is interwoven with the tapestry that is Florence. Her "warts and all" approach to explaining the Medici and the time they lived in, truly helps the reader put the art of the Renaissance in perspective.
After we are introduced to the city framed in time, Testa starts us out at the Cathedral and its "Cupolone," the gigantic dome of the Cathedral and iconic symbol of Florence. We then follow her to the Baptistery, the Brancacci Chapel, Piazza della Signoria, Orsanmichele and others. She of course visits the Uffizi, the Medici palace, and even dedicates one chapter entirely to one of the most famous works in the world, Michaelangelo's "David." Over the course of her chapters we revisit, or are introduced to, the "crème de la crème" of Florentine artistic offerings. With the skill of a jeweler examining a rare gem, her version of "cut, clarity, and color" is to reveal each work through the lens of "politics, sex, and religion." The result is a broad based and fascinating understanding of some of history's greatest works of art.
An Art Lover's Guide To Florence is not a "guidebook" per se, though I certainly would want to have a copy in my hand the next time I'm wandering those picturesque streets along the Arno. There is a helpful map at the beginning, but her objective is not to have the reader follow some predetermined route and throw a bit of trivia at them when they get there. The reader is free to explore the city as they wish, armed with a deep understanding of what they are looking at. Whether you are planning a visit to Florence, or are just interested in the cache of treasures that city holds, this book will entice. With her witty prose, insightful perspectives and uncanny ability to "make learning fun," Testa leaves the reader feeling as if they've gotten a private tour of Florence, by someone privy to secrets not often shared with the public.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
This is a Story Lover's Guide to Florence
By J J.
I loved that fact that Judith Testa doesn't even pretend to try to cover all the art in Florence, because as she says in the first chapter it isn't possible. What she does do is give you the social, political, religious, and in some cases sexual background by means of individual stories to turn lifeless stone and canvas into time capsules of the human condition. It is a beautiful and entertaining way to connect to the art and artists in way that is deeper than focusing on art techniques or flowery words describing what you are already seeing. In fact the author skips over a few semi-famous pieces because there isn't a good story behind them (don't worry there will be plenty of signs point the way and you won't need a book to find them). I felt much closer to the artists, architects, and engineers of Florence after reading this book and the art became more interactive and personal because of it.
It is also broken down into museum so you can focus on your next days activity at your hotel the night before.
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