AN ART LOVER’S GUIDE TO FLORENCE -- PART 3

BY JUDITH TESTA

NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY PRESS

By Heidi Johnson-Wright

In the 20th century, without the context of the horrors of the First World War, Dada would seem like little more than a fur-lined teacup.

And without an understanding of how the Machine Age changed civilization, Art Deco would be reduced to pretty swirling lines in building friezes.

Same goes for the Italian Renaissance.

 

Although Testa’s prose is occasionally clunky, she more than makes up for it with juicy tales about Brunelleschi’s gargantuan ego, a pirate turned disgraced pope, Medici family intrigue and so much more.

 

Once you’ve read the 229-page book, and finally find yourself in front of Botticelli’s Primavera, your breath will be taken away for all the right reasons.

Paperback: $22.50: www.niupress.niu.edu