In this study, Marina Belozerskaya re-establishes the importance of the Burgundian court as a center of art production and patronage in early modern Europe. Beginning with a historiographical and theoretical overview, she offers an analysis of contemporary documents and patterns of patronage, demonstrating that Renaissance tastes were formed through a fusion of international currents and art works in a variety of media. Among the most prestigious were those emanating out of the Burgundian court, which embodied prevailing contemporary values: magnificence in appearance, ceremony and surroundings, chivalry inspired by Greco-Roman antiquity, and power manifested through ingenious ensembles of luxury arts. The potency of this 'Burgundian mode' fostered a pan-European demand for its arts and their creators, with rulers in England, Germany, Spain and Italy itself eagerly acquiring Burgundian art works. This interdisciplinary study of the Burgundian arts provides a new paradigm for further inquiry into the pluralism and cosmopolitanism of the Renaissance.
• Revolutionary interpretation of Renaissance culture • Numerous illustrations, many in color • Cross-disciplinary and multimedia approach
Contents
1. The legacy of Vasari; 2. Through fifteenth-century eyes: the Burgundian dukes on the international arena; 3. Perceiving value: the hierarchy of the arts and their uses; 4. The politics of desire: Burgundian arts across Europe; 5. Economics of consumption: art for the masses.
Review
Review of the hardback: 'This book is both original and thought-provoking in its approach to one of the most popular periods in European history.' Burlington Magazine
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