High Renaissance Art In Italy

Insight Guides Italy
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Art historian Dr James Fox makes the case for a singularly British renaissance, telling the stories of the artists and artisans who changed Britain forever. Italians do it better: when Venice and Florence, Leonardo and Raphael led the Renaissance, shouldn't our murky backwater of an island at the far edge of Europe just accept its place in the cultural shadows? Not if art historian Dr James Fox has anything to do with it. In this edifying journey into Britain's cultural flowering, James is telling anecdotes and tales of the strange and wonderful immigrants who seeded the Renaissance.

On a spectacular journey through Renaissance Italy, Andrew Graham-Dixon searches for the shadowy figure who wrote one of the most important books on art and looks at some dazzling works, including masterpieces of the early Renaissance by Giotto, Masaccio and Donatello. Giorgio Vasari was the grandaddy of all art critics, travelling Italy in the 16th century for his definitive Lives of the Artists. Scorning medieval Gothic, he praised to the vaulted ceilings the revival of classical art and architecture.

Under the label Alia Vox Diversa , Jordi Savall invites the ensemble Tasto Solo, founded in 2006, whose first albums were critically acclaimed : Diapason d’or, Amadeus “CD du Mois”, Ritmo & Audio Clásica “Excellent”, Pizzicato “Supersonic”, Scherzo “Exception- Nel”, France Musique “Coup de Coeur”… It brings us back to the Europe of the XVIIth Century , which experienced an unparalleled development of treatises about the art of instru- mental and vocal performance. Italy was the epic enter of a new style derived from the world of dance. This album revolves mainly around the work of composer Vincenzo Ruffo and his contemporaries.

The Art of Germany, the programme will take an in-depth look at the 500-year cultural history of Germany's art scene, which rivalled Italy's Renaissance for its creativity. Split over three 60-minute episodes, presenter Andrew Graham-Dixon will explore the various themes of Germanic art, including landscape, folk lore and national identity. The programme will also look at the work of famed German artists, such as Durer, Holbein, Caspar David Friedrich, Otto Dix, Joseph Beuys and Gerhard Richter. The programme follows previous specials on BBC celebrating the art of Italy, Spain and Russia. "The Art of Germany is a vital addition to BBC Four's The Art Of strand, helping to bring the worlds less familiar artistic and cultural traditions to a wider audience," said Graham-Dixon. "Following two World Wars, there is a tendency to deny German culture the equal reverence of Italy or France, and this enlightening new series provides a wonderful opportunity to explore a great, yet often neglected, artistic tradition whose influence has been just as profound."