The Intellectual Life of the Early Renaissance Artist

Rating:
Summary: the intellectual lives of a few early renaissance artists...
Review: Francis Ames-Lewis's The Intellectual Life of the Early Renaissance Artist is both a successful introduction to Renaissance art and a tenuous attempt to assign motivation and intention to artists through the methodology of art history. Ames-Lewis clearly prefers the depictive to the analytical, from his informative though shallow tracing of the evolving style and technique of Renaissance painting and sculpture to his examination of the overall social position of artists during the Quattrocento. While it is understandable that the relative paucity of reliable sources necessitates a cautious approach to interpreting the works of Renaissance artists, Ames-Lewis's elaboration on, and support of, his thesis is nonetheless disappointing-in the end, it appears as though only a handful of artists truly believed that their work was more than simple craft and were justly acknowledged by peers and patrons alike.

The Intellectual Life is plagued by weaknesses both in content and style, and, although many of them are admitted to and predicted by the author, they nonetheless decrease the impact of the work. The use of limited evidence, as acknowledged in the introduction, makes for a watered-down analysis. Examples of artists rising to prominence is scant, and repeated references to a small circle of elite artists, such as Raphael, Mantegna and Leonardo form the bulk of Ames' support. It seems as though the author's reliance on primary sources-lengthy and informative analyses of artistic creations-over biographical, fact-based evidence damages the support for his thesis. Whereas Ames relies on the treatises of artists who extol the sciences, one would expect anecdotal evidence from Leonardo's fascination with anatomy. When he repeatedly asserts that great artists wished to distance themselves from mere craftsmen, one would anticipate at least a passing mention of Michelangelo's refusal to join a guild.

As a work of art history, The Intellectual Life succeeds; however, it should not be confused with a thesis-driven endeavor. While Ames-Lewis does acknowledge that his work is, at best, an overview of early Renaissance art for the uninitiated, he nonetheless avoids alternative viewpoints or scholarly work, asserting that his is the accepted interpretation of the evolution of Renaissance art. In burying analytical points in the middle of paragraphs and chapters, Ames-Lewis also never directly proves his stated thesis. What the author traces through his work is not so much the increasing demand of artists for the elevation of their profession to the status of the liberal arts, but rather the increasing sophistication of their work-if Renaissance painters, sculptors and architects made a case for the rising status of their art, it was primarily on the implicit level. Ames-Lewis' thesis may provide the framework for his work, but it does not drive or direct the development of the body of the text. On this note, the lack of continuity between chapters further obscures the progression of his central argument.

The Intellectual Life would almost certainly benefit from the inclusion of more biographical evidence, perhaps in the form of a direct comparison of the lives of Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael. A discussion of the signing of work by artists would likewise illuminate their changing self-concepts. This theme was alluded to in Ames' treatment of the audacious Ghiberti, who "inserted [into the exterior of the Florentine Duomo] a classicizing imago clipeata portrait closely linked with his self-laudatory signature inscription: 'Made by the wondrous skill of Lorenzo di Cione Ghiberti" (235). Also, it was surprising to see Ames-Lewis neglect several major works of this period, including Raphael's School of Athens, which shows not only great skill & advanced technique, but also historical awareness, architectural knowledge, and the egocentrism of artist. Ames mentions in passing the competition over the Florentine baptistery doors between Brunelleschi and Ghiberti, yet fails to elaborate on the potential consequences this event had on a broad level. Whether Ames-Lewis might simply have assumed knowledge of these in the reader or ignored obvious examples is unclear. Ultimately, The Intellectual Life falls short of its declared goal, and one is left to wonder whether Ames-Lewis's preface statement that "there was at least an elite group of early Renaissance painters and sculptors who had much higher aspirations" (IX) should have read "there was at most an elite group..."

Rating:
Summary: an excellent book
Review: This is an excellent book, if you're interested in the education, the culture, the intellectual profile of Quattrocento artists, in their quest for social and intellectual recognition. Not only that the subject is fascinating, but the author treats it in a very thorough manner. Probably the first book ever written on the subject, it is very helpful for anyone interested to know more on this (so far almost neglected) aspect of Renaissance art and culture. Artists like Mantegna, Durer, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli and many others are discussed. One of the best art history books I have read lately.