Flowers Of The Renaissance

Many favorite flowers, such as roses, irises, and lilies had long been endowed with a wealth of symbolic meanings. Renaissance artists, by embracing new methods of scientific observation, were able to portray them for the first time with an accuracy that made each species easily identifiable. --

In our modern world, the spiny-stemmed flowers, intertwined leaves, and delicate pink blossoms of the rubus fruticosus, or common blackberry bramble, might catch the eye of the casual observer or weekend gardener. Pleasant, prolific, and decorative, plants like the blackberry are looked upon as sources for harvest, landscape, and visual pleasure. To the medieval and Renaissance artist, however, these botanicals were far more. Part of a richly symbolic visual language culled from the classical era, their exquisite depiction in illuminated manuscripts of the age evoked fertility, conjured bad dreams, and even aligned itself with ancient wisdom. The popular and enduring appeal of flowers in medieval art and literature extended beyond simple botanical illustration; instead, flowers helped to tell countless stories without words through potent symbolic imagery. The Medieval Flower Book artfully presents an alphabetical collection of over one hundred of the major flowers that appear in medieval manuscripts--gathered with fascinating explanatory texts on their history, significance, and usage. The sumptuous reproductions that accompany each entry offer a visual reference to the symbolism of botanicals in medieval manuscripts that's beyond breathtaking in its appeal. An introductory section explaining the ancient roots of practical horticulture's expansion into cultural and spiritual realms not only places the volume in the context of gardening history, but gives the general reader insight into our enduring interest in these remarkable herbals. Widely appealing to all of those interested in flowers and gardening, the horticultural historian, and the student of visual culture and medieval history, The Medieval Flower Book is a fascinating and important primer on the beauty and language of florals. Extensively ranging through the canon of medieval botanicals--from acanthus and anemones to violets and wallflowers--this volume is the perfect gift for anyone interested in blossoms and blooms, and should thrill the everyday gardener and art collector alike.

Flowers are associated with all the important events in our lives, whether celebratory or commemorative, but they can also cheer our everyday existence and enliven the spaces around us. This book shows just how. Through the work of thirty-eight floral designers, we see ideas for flowers for every occasion, whether public - decorations for weddings, arrangements for banquets, installations for shops and hotels, accessories for fashion shows, exhibits for art shows - or private, in the form of simple but special displays for the home. Organized in alphabetical order, each florist is introduced with a short biography, then in their own words they explain the stories behind their floral arrangements. Illustrations include portraits of the florists, shots of works in progress and full-colour images of glorious finished displays. As a visual refreshment for stylists, florists and design professionals, and an indulgent treat for anyone who loves flowers or decorating their own space, this book is an inspirational confection.

There is a striking similarity between Marian devotional songs and secular love songs of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Two disparate genres--one sacred, the other secular; one Latin, the other vernacular--both praise an idealized, impossibly virtuous woman. Each does so through highly stylized derivations of traditional medieval song forms--Marian prayer derived from earlier Gregorian chant, and love songs and lyrics from medieval courtly song. Yet despite their obvious similarities, the two musical and poetic traditions have rarely been studied together. Author David J. Rothenberg takes on this task with remarkable success, producing a useful and broad introduction to Marian music and liturgy, and then coupling that with an incisive comparative analysis of these devotional forms and the words and music of secular love songs of the period. The Flower of Paradise examines the interplay of Marian devotional and secular poetics within polyphonic music from ca. 1200 to ca. 1500. Through case studies of works that demonstrate a specific symbolic resonance between Marian devotion and secular song, the book illustrates the distinctive ethos of this period in European culture. Rothenberg makes use of an impressive command of liturgical and religious studies, literature and poetry, and art history to craft a study with wide application across disciplinary boundaries. With its broad scope and unique, incisive analysis, this book will open up new ways of thinking about the history and development of secular and sacred music and the Marian tradition for scholars, students, and anyone with an interest in medieval and Renaissance religious culture.

Whether part of a grand villa or an extension of a common kitchen, gardens in the Renaissance were planted and treasured in all reaches of society. Illuminated manuscripts of the period offer a glimpse into how people at the time pictured, used, and enjoyed these idyllic green spaces. This illustrated volume explores gardens on many levels, from the literary Garden of Love and the biblical Garden of Eden to courtly gardens of the nobility, and reports on the many activities that took place there.

"Haunting ... teems with raw emotion, and McCullough deftly captures the experience of learning to behave in a male-driven society and then breaking outside of it."—The New Yorker "I will be haunted and empowered by Artemisia Gentileschi's story for the rest of my life."—Amanda Lovelace, bestselling author of the princess saves herself in this one A William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist 2018 National Book Award Longlist Her mother died when she was twelve, and suddenly Artemisia Gentileschi had a stark choice: a life as a nun in a convent or a life grinding pigment for her father's paint. She chose paint. By the time she was seventeen, Artemisia did more than grind pigment. She was one of Rome's most talented painters, even if no one knew her name. But Rome in 1610 was a city where men took what they wanted from women, and in the aftermath of rape Artemisia faced another terrible choice: a life of silence or a life of truth, no matter the cost. He will not consume my every thought. I am a painter. I will paint. Joy McCullough's bold novel in verse is a portrait of an artist as a young woman, filled with the soaring highs of creative inspiration and the devastating setbacks of a system built to break her. McCullough weaves Artemisia's heartbreaking story with the stories of the ancient heroines, Susanna and Judith, who become not only the subjects of two of Artemisia's most famous paintings but sources of strength as she battles to paint a woman's timeless truth in the face of unspeakable and all-too-familiar violence. I will show you what a woman can do. ★"A captivating and impressive."—Booklist, starred review ★"Belongs on every YA shelf."—SLJ, starred review ★"Haunting."—Publishers Weekly, starred review ★"Luminous."—Shelf Awareness, starred review

Memling, Van Eyck, Antonello da Messina, Raphael, Holbein, Titian, Leonardo . . . these are the greatest names of the Renaissance which symbolize the ultimate in artistic achievement. Now their work is reproduced in this spectacular, luxury volume printed on cotton paper and exquisitely presented in a brown and turquoise linen case. Whether Italian, Flemish, or German, all were masters of the portrait, a style that was popular and much appreciated during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The genius of these artists allowed them to overcome the limits of the genre and inscribe the art of portraiture into the universal history of mankind. Sharply focused and featuring meticulously researched illustrations, this beautiful book is the first of its kind to shed light on some of the most familiar images in art history. 70 illustrations

Excerpt from Flowers of France, the Renaissance Period, Vol. 1: From Ronsard to Saint-Amant, Representative Poems of the Sixteenth Century, Rendered Into English Verse, in Accordance With the Original Forms This flesh, indeed, corruption must aby; Yet thou, my soul, thou shalt not surely die, But flower with God for ever in the sky. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The great turning point of Western civilization that we call the Renaissance marked the emergence of the modern world from the Dark Ages. This ingenious, profusely illustrated book presents the entire epoch of the Renaissance through a spectacular array of images and invites readers to follow the great lives, explore the themes, and witness the major events of this exciting era.

Each section of Flowers in Medieval Manuscripts includes relevant details of the manuscripts from which the illustrations are taken, and the concluding section discusses manuscript production in relation to these margins.