From Commedia dell’Arte came archetypal characters that are still with us today, such as Harlequin and Pantalone, and the rediscovered craft of writing comic dramas and masked theatre. From it came the forces that helped create and influence Opera, Ballet, Pantomime, Shakespeare, Moliere, Lopes de Vega, Goldoni, Meyerhold, and even the glove puppet, Mr Punch.The Routledge Companion to Commedia dell’Arte is a wide-ranging volume written by over 50 experts, that traces the history, c...

A companion to John Rudlin's best-selling Commedia dell'Arte: A Handbook for Actors, this book covers both the history and professional practice of commedia dell'arte companies from 1568 to the present day. Indispensable for both the beginner and the professional, it contains historical and contemporary company case histories, details on company organisation, and tips on practical stagecraft.Essential for students and practitioners, this book enables the reader to understan...

Concise. Essential. Annotated. These three words describe what the books in My Pocket Gallery gives readers. This Art Book contains annotated reproductions of Leonardo da Vinci drawings, date and interesting facts page below. Book includes Table of Contents and is formatted for all e-readers and Tablets (use rotate and/or zoom feature on landscape/horizontal images for optimal viewing). Leonardo recorded his constant flow of ideas for paintings on paper. In his Studies for the ...

Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, military-engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. His genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance Man, a man of "unquenchable curiosity" and "feverishly inventive imagination". He is widely considered to be one of the greatest...

This ebook is an extract from Blue Guide Central Italy, with superb regional maps, town maps and site plans. Includes a comprehensive historical introduction, practical information on where to eat and stay, and information about local food and wine.Lazio, the region of Italy which includes Rome, is the ancient heartland of the Etruscans, a land which enchanted D.H. Lawrence and which remains well off the beaten track today. Full of fascinating sites and monuments, home to the glori...

Modigliani (1884-1920) was a painter of great unhappiness in his native Italy and felt only sorrow in his adopted country of France. Out of this discontent came forth Modigliani’s original work, which was influenced by African art, the Cubists, and drunken nights in Montparnasse. His portrayal of women—sensual bodies, almost aggressive nudity, and mysterious faces—expresses their suffering and feelings of being unloved and unjustly disregarded. Modigliani died at the age of 36.

Ideas in Profile: Small Introductions to Big TopicsArt has always been part of history. But we often think of it as outside history. When we look at a painting by Raphael, Rembrandt or Rubens it speaks to us directly, but it's also an historical document, part of a living world. Renowned art historian Martin Kemp takes the reader on an extraordinary trip through art, from devotional works to the revolutionary techniques of the Renaissance, from the courtly Masters ...

Leonardo’s early life was spent in Florence, his maturity in Milan, and the last three years of his life in France. Leonardo’s teacher was Verrocchio. First he was a goldsmith, then a painter and sculptor: as a painter, representative of the very scientific school of draughtsmanship; more famous as a sculptor, being the creator of the Colleoni statue at Venice, Leonardo was a man of striking physical attractiveness, great charm of manner and conversation, and mental accomplishment. He was ...

Short and literary guide to Venice's Lido, in the Blue Guides' new Travel Monographs series.The Venice Lido was once one of the most fashionable and glamorous bathing resorts in Europe. Such diverse types as Diaghilev, Coco Chanel and Churchill holidayed there, Thomas Mann used it as his setting for Death in Venice, while Hitler flew in for lunch with Mussolini at the golf club. Faded elegance, comfort and style remain, all a 10 minute vaporetto ride across the lagoon to Venice its...

How an oddly attributed $19,000 picture proved to be a $100 million work by Leonardo da Vinci—a true art-world detective storyIn late 2010, art collector Peter Silverman revealed that a "German, early 19th century" portrait he had bought for $19,000 was, in fact, a previously unknown drawing by Leonardo da Vinci—an exquisite depiction of Bianca Sforza, rendered 500 years ago. In Leonardo's Lost Princess, Silverman gives a riveting first-person account of h...

Rising up from the heart of the Mediterranean, Sicily has a rich and ancient history spanning over 2,000 years. A bounty prized by invaders from the Greeks, Romans and Vandals to the Byzantines, Arabs and Normans, Sicily's violently beautiful landscapes are haunted by a vibrant mix of cultures and her soil has always been fertile ground for the literary and artistic imagination.This compelling guide uncovers the island's multi-faceted personality through those literary figures who ...

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796 - 1875) was the leading French painter of the Barbizon school in the mid-nineteenth century. Claude Monet called of him:"There is only one master here and his name is Corot. We are nothing weigh against to him - nothing."Corot often praised as a predecessor of Impressionism, but he painted his landscapes in more traditional way than is generally supposed. Compared to the Impressionists who came later, Corot's palette is restrained, dominate...