Looking at Painting in Florence 13th-16th Centuries: a Learner's Handbook

There?s been a time when, during their Grand Tour, learned amateurs coming from distant countries, after contemplating the masterpieces of the Florentine galleries, conveyed in their letters to relatives and friends outmost admiration, but also relevant and insightful remarks. This time seems to live again in the work of Richard Peterson, a cultivated American ?amateur?, who with devotion, but also with objectivity and competence, introduces us to the wonders of Medieval and Renaissance art in a volume, rich in beautiful pictures in color, which is more of a guide, a travel companion which to appeal to under the emotional impact of masterpieces of superhuman beauty, an enjoyable antidote to Stendhal?s syndrome that, exorcised our vertigo in front of immortal works, illustrates in plain, familiar language their meaning, novelty, magnificence. We follow Richard Peterson, reading his descriptions interspersed with illuminating historical sketches, in Santa Croce, the Brancacci Chapel at the Carmine, the Uffizi, Santa Maria Novella and San Marco, in the Accademia and along other great Florentine artistic repositories. This book imparts the skills that allow the reader to answer the question ?Why does this painting matter?? Devoted solely to the entire course of Florentine painting, from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance, this richly illustrated handbook is intended to bridge the gap between the guidebook and the serious academic text. The book is organized chronologically around the churches and cloisters, the principal museums and palaces that house the city?s art. It is dedicated to all those who, loving Art, don?t feel possessing tools to penetrate its mystery. ?You want a stunning pair of eyes to see the paintings in Florence with? Fresh, deeply informed, alive to detail. Without pedantry? This gift of a book is it.?  (Robert Hass, Professor of English, University of California, Berkeley, and former poet laureate of the United States) ?The strategy of a walk through the Uffizi produces a narrative for readers lucky enough to have it in hand. The story is clear, concise, accessible, its conventions enlivened by personal engagement, and the enthusiasm that shows throughout.?  (Randolph Starn, Emeritus Professor of History, University of California, Berkeley)