THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF THE RENAISSANCE by RICHARD STEMP - 2009

DUNCAN BAIRD PUBLISHERS, 2009. DURA BOLSILLO. Bien/Pobre. LIBRO EN INGLESThe mind of the Renaissance artist differs from our modern mind in its habit of encoding meanings into symbols - everything from beehives to centaurs. Often these meanings drew upon a traditional symbolic repertoire available to Renaissance man but now largely disused. However sometimes a more esoteric meaning was encoded in a painting sculpture building or other visual artefact or in a text - perhaps even a hidden political message or an expression of heretical faith. The Secret Language of the Renaissance peels back these layers of meaning in three distinct detailed sections. Part One is a vivid immersion in the culture of this remarkable period encompassing literature painting sculpture and the decorative arts. Part Two offers a wide-ranging guide to the essential elements of symbolic language in Renaissance art including colour geometry light and shade proportion perspective and body language. Part Three the heart of the book analyses more than 40 works arranged in a theme-by-theme guide to