ART 384, CRITICAL BOOK REVIEW ASSIGNMENT
This short paper will consist of a critical book review of around three or four pages in length
on an important source (not a picture book) for your research paper. The topic for your
research paper, and the book to be reviewed, should be submitted by the instructor for
approval on February 6. You should read your chosen book carefully, noting the author's
arguments, and comparing them to what you find in your texts. You likely will want to do
some supplementary reading to check further on the book’s accuracy. , The review should be
written in clear English, and must be in printed format. It is due on March 7. Reviews
submitted after this date (unless cleared with the instructor) will be graded off one-third of a
grade per day late.
The Book Review
A critical book review is an informed critique of a scholarly work. It should take something like
the following form:
1. Bibliographical information about the work: author, title, place and date of publication. This is
given as a heading.
2. A brief statement of the book's purpose or thesis (why it was written). This may be combined
with an introduction to the material dealt with in the book.
3. A synopsis of the order in which the author presents his or her information.
4. Critical evaluation of the success or failure of the book in meeting its thesis. This may include
any errors in the book you find (including typos), any features which made the book difficult to
read, and mention of additional material that the author failed to include.
5. A final evaluation of the book as a success or failure, including what readership it is suitable
for.
APPROVED REVIEW TOMES
1) Giotto: d'Arcais, Giotto ; Eimerl, The World of Giotto , Maginnis, Painting in the Age of
Giotto ; Smart, The Dawn of Italian Painting, 1250-1400 .
Ghiberti: Finn The Florence Baptistry Doors ; Krautheimer, Ghiberti.
Masaccio: Spike, Masaccio ; Berti Masaccio:; Cole, Masaccio and the Art of Early
Renaissance Florence
Donatello: Bennett and Wilkins, Donatello ; Poeschke, Donatello ; Pope-Hennessy, Donatello
Nanni di Banco Bergstein, The Sculptures of Nanni de Banco .
Fra Angelico: Pope-Hennesssy, Fra Angelico ; Hood Fra Angelico in San Marco .
Fra Filippo Lippi: Holmes, Fra Filippo Lippi .
Uccello: Franco and Borsi, Uccello.
Castagno: Horster, Andrea del Castagno .
Veneziano: Wohl, The Paintings of Domenico Veneziano .
Piero della Francesca: Bertelli, Piero della Francesca ; Cole, Piero della Francesca ; Clark
Piero della Francesca .
Pollaiuolo: Wright, The Pollaiuolo Brothers
Verrochio: Parsavant, Verrocchio, Butterfield, The Sculptures of Andrea del Verrocchio
Botticelli: Ettlinger, Botticelli ; Lightbown, Botticelli .
Ghirlandaio: Cadogan, Domenico Ghirlandaio .
Perugino: Pietro Perugino
Pisanello: Syson and Gordon, Pisanello: Painter to the Renaissance Court.
Mantegna: Lightbown, Mantegna ; Martineau, Andrea Mantegna .
Giovanni Bellini: Goffen, Giovanni Bellini ; Robertson, Giovanni Bellini .
Carpaccio: Brown, Narrative Painting in the Age of Carpaccio.; Mason, Carpaccio, the
Major Picture Cycles; Sgarbi, Carpaccio .
Leonardo: Nichol, Leonardo da Vinci ; Bramley, Leonardo, the Artist and the Man ; Gould,
Leonardo ; Kemp, Leonardo da Vinci ; Letze and Buchsteiner, Leonardo da Vinci ; Whiting,
The Art of Leonardo da Vinci .
Raphael: Ettlinger, Raphael ; Jones and Penny, Raphael ; Pope-Hennessy, Raphael ;
Oberhuber, Raphael, The Paintings ; Tabervacchia, Raphael.
Michelangelo, in general: Hibbard, Michelangelo ; Murray, Michelangelo ; de Tolnay, The
Art and Thought of Michelangelo .
Michelangelo, painting: Mariani, Michelangleo the Painter ; Gilbert, Michelangelo On and
Off the Sistine Chapel .
Michelangelo, sculpture: Baldini, The Sculpture of Michelangelo ; Hartt, Michelangelo: the
Complete Sculpture ; Poeschke, Michelangelo and His World .
Giorgione: Anderson, Giorgione ; Pignatti, Giorgione .
Titian: Humfrey, Titian, Cole, Titian , Hope, Titian ; Rosand, Titian: His World and Legacy ;
Pedrocco, Titian ,Various, Titian: Prince of Painters ; Williams, The World of Titian ;
Venetian Painting in general: Rosand, Painting in 16th Century Venice (second ed.) .
Veronese: The Art of Paolo Veronese, 1528-1588.
Correggio: Ekserdjian, Correggio .
Parmigianino: .Ekserdjian, Parmigianino, Gould Parmigianino .
Anguissola: Perlingieri, Sofonisba Anguissola
Pontormo: Nigro, Pontormo.
Bronzino: McCorquodale, Bronzino .
Vasari: Rubin, Vasari: Art and History
2) Brunelleschi: Saalman, Filippo Brunelleschi: the Buildings ; Battisti, Filippo Brunelleschi .
Alberti: Grafton, Leon Battista Alberti, Kelly, Leon Battista Alberti .
Bramante: Bruschi, Bramante .
Michelangelo: Ackerman, The Architecture of Michelangelo ; Argan and Contordi,
Michelangelo the Architect .
Palladio: Ackerman, Palladio ; Boucher, Andrea Palladio .
3) Mannerism: Hauser, Mannerism ; Shearman, Mannerism ; Hall, After Raphael .
4) Catholic Church and 16th century art: Goffen, Piety and Painting in Renaissance Venice ;
Freedberg, Painting in Italy, 1500-1600 .
5) Renaissance theories of art: Blunt, Artistic Theory in Italy, 1450-1600 ; Summers, The
Judgement of Sense ; Wohl, The Aesthetics of Italian Renaissance Art .
6) Italian Renaissance art in Renaissance society: Cole, Italian Art, 1250-1550: The Relation of
Renaissance Art to Life and Society ; Welch, Art and Society in Italy, 1350-1500 (=Art in
Renaissance Italy); Burke, Culture and Society in Renaissance Italy 2; Wackernagel, The world
of the Florentine Renaissance Artist ; Ames-Lewis, The Intellectual Life of the Early
Renaissance Artist.PAPER ASSIGNMENT AND SUGGESTED TOPICS, ART 384
Write a paper of at leasteight, and not much more than ten (10) pages, following extensive
research in the Library, on one of the following topics. If the suggested topics are
unsatisfactory, students are free to develop a topic of their own choosing, but they must discuss
its feasibility with the instructor to gain his approval before undertaking the topic. Papers will
be graded on content, clarity and style. Citations may be done with any coherent system (APA
or MLA are the most common), but the source of your information needs to be documented.
Plagiarism, whether direct copying, or illegal paraphrase, will cause the paper to be failed.
Unless otherwise cleared with the instructor, papers will marked down one third letter grade
per day late. It is due March 14.
1) Discuss the artistic career of one of the following artists, with attention to his (or her)
importance and influence on the development of Italian Renaissance style, and the ways in
which his works represent Renaissance values: Giotto, Ghiberti, Masaccio, Nanni di Banco,
Donatello, Fra Angelico, Piero della Francesca, Uccello, Castagno, Veneziano, Verrocchio,
Pollaiuolo, Perugino, Pisanello, Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio,
Carpaccio, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo (painting or sculpture, not both), Titian,
Giorgione, Pontormo, Parmigianino, Correggio, Veronese, Anguissola, Bronzino, Vasari. .
2) Discuss the career of one of the following architects, with attention to his importance and
influence on the development of Renaissance style, and the ways in which his work represents
Renaissance values: Brunelleschi, Alberti, Bramante, Michelangelo, Palladio.
3) Examine the Mannerist crisis of the 1520s and 1530s in painting or architecture in Florence
and Rome. Attention should be paid to the origins of Mannerism, its nature and to the reasons
for its emergence.
4) Discuss the changing attitudes of the Catholic Church towards Renaissance art in the 16th
century. Particular attention should be paid to the differences between High Renaissance and
the Counter-Reformation ideas of art.
5) Discuss the evolution of, nature of and the changes in Renaissance theories of art.
6) Discuss the role of and intent of Italian Renaissance art in Renaissance society.