Period Art Books

[PrincessSara]

I'm looking for books of period art.  I'm just looking for stuff for visual reference, I don't really care about the history of art or the method or the cultural contexts or whatever. 

So I'm looking for things that have copies of manuscript illuminations, paintings, portraits, tapestries, etc.  For example a book with copies of Boccacce's "De mulieribus claris", or the Cluny tapestries, or the Winchester Psalter, etc.etc.

Anyone have any titles?

[gem]

I'll come back tomorrow with actual titles, but for now--I've found most of mine by picking through the stock at Half Price Books, and by looking for cheap books by artist or subject on Amazon (the Taschen artist series is really good--lots of nice color images, not too expensive even new).  I know that two or three of the local HPBs have several fairly recent titles on early/medieval art, the illuminated mss, etc.

Last summer I had a wonderful book about the Cluny Tapestries here on interlibrary loan *from France!*  It got here surprisingly quickly, actually.  I found it by searching for tapestry books on Amazon, and then getting them from my library.  One book referenced the Cluny book in its bibliography, and I snatched it up (well, as much as one *can* snatch an interlibrary loan!).  I was glad I did, too--it had the only closeup color picture of Promenade that I've been able to find!

[isabelladangelo]

Most of the art books I have are actually those discount books from Borders.  Since I'm just looking for pictures, I could care less about the text.  $9.99 for a book on all the paintings done by Michelangelo is reasonable to me.   Now, if you'd like dress description books or pattern books, I'd suggest The Clothing of the Renaissance World which is new.  It has some GREAT drawings that are reprints of drawings done in the 1580's.  If you order it from amazon.uk.co it's a LOT cheaper.  I think I ended up paying around $45 for it which included shipping. The book is selling at stores in the US for anywhere around $75~$125. Also look into Patterns of Fashion on the UK site.

[gem]

Ok, starting:

--The Cluny book is: Joubert, Fabienne: La tapisserie medievale au musee de Cluny

--I found *that* book referenced in Cavallo, Adolfo: Medieval Tapestries in the Metropolitan Museum of Art

[operafantomet]

For the Italian Renaissance clothes I make, I tend to go for monographies on specific artists. They include much more than the "highlight" books, often rare stuff, and they also put it in context. But in general, books about villas, manuscripts, clothes, fabrics etc. can also be very helpful. Favourites are:

"Bronzino" (Maurice Brock)
"Villa Caldogno" (Albino Munaretto)
"Private Lives in Renaissance Venice" (Patricia Fortini Brown)
"Titian" (Marian Kaminski)
"Raphael" (Stephanie Buck + Peter Hohenstart)
"De gli habiti antichi....." (Cesare Vecellio)
"The Renaissance" (Margaret Aston)
"Italian Frescoes" (Steffi Roetgen)
"Moda a Firenze" (Landini + Niccola)
"Velvet" (Fabrizio de Marinis)
"Blue - the History of a Colour" (Michel Pastoreau)
And of course all of Janet Arnold's "Patterns of Fashion" books, but that's pattern books and a different "animal"...

I hope others will contribute on books about carpetry, woodcuts, engravings etc. I mostly deal with paintings, so I should look more into alternative sources.

[PrincessSara]

Thanks girls!!  Great books, if only I could afford them all!  Oh well, that's what inter-library loan is for. 

gem - those books are perfect, I hope I can get my hands on them.  I'm making a Cluny gown too.