| Ludovico,
Agostino, and Annibale Carracci played leading roles in bringing about
the changes in style and outlook that transformed the art of painting
around 1600. Working both as a team and as individuals, they turned
away from the conventions of Mannerism to reinvigorate the Renaissance
tradition and usher in a new style, at once naturalistic, classical,
and spirited.
Malvasia's "Life of the Carracci" has been the principal source
of knowledge about these pioneering artists since its first publication
in 1678 in Felsina pittrice, vite de' pittori bolognesi. Malvasia, a law professor and a literary man, was brilliant, innovative,
and contentious. His biography of the Carracci is pivotal to his
celebration of the Bolognese contribution to Baroque art and provides
a window onto the cultural life of seventeenth-century Italy. The
worlds of artisans, artists, literati, and patrons intersect in
his text, giving it incomparable historical and literary value.
Although Malvasia's "Life of the Carracci" is widely cited, this
is the first translation in any language and the first to offer
an extended critical and historical commentary. Malvasia's own life
is discussed, and his triple biography of the Carracci is situated
within the intellectual and literary currents to which he responded.
Richly illustrated, Summerscale's book will be an indispensable
resource for art historians and students of seventeenth-century
literature and historiography. |
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