Description

Immediate dispatch from Somerset. Nice book in great condition. Pages in excellent condition. Images are beautiful bright and vivid. No notes or highlighting. Very large book 35×41. See images. Fantastic book.

About the book >.>.> Whatever gold is used for it never represents reality. It is always a symbol. Whenever an artist uses this colour which is not applied like a pigment but in exquisite ultra-thin leaves he intends to allude to something else something unattainable and distant. The gold background represents the heavens the celestial sphere of the sacred the setting of Christ the Judge in Romanesque mosaics. Gold is an essential element in the relief-decorated nimbi of saints thronging altarpieces by Duccio’s followers and various 13th- and 14th-century masters. Along with the rich detail gold creates an aura of preciousness and refinement evoking an otherworldly reality intended to be admired and adored. The use of gold and complacent insistence upon ornaments and jewels are embedded in the goldworking activities of the 14th- and 15th- century workshops presented by Cennino Cennini’s Libro dell’arte a handbook describing the technical skills attained by Tuscan craftsmen and illustrating the various stages involved in gilding. This craft passed on in the workshops together with the materials was common to 14th and 15 century artistic practice contributing to the rich appearance of courtly Gothic works. It was later taken up by early Renaissance artists Gentile da Fabriano Beato Angelico and Masaccio would turn to Cennini’s instructions when preparing and decorating their panels. (OS)