Venice: Lion City

Rating:
Summary: The merger of history and art!
Review: An extraordinary book! History, religion, art, political theory all blended together. I pulled out all my other books and travel guides from Venice and was bouncing back and forth studying art and architecture from a whole new point of view. Read this book before you visit Venice and take it with you as a whole new kind of guide.

The Venice Chamber of Commerce ought to be happy, I am planning my next trip now.

Garry -- Please do this for 5 other great cities. How about Amsterdam? Paris?

Rating:
Summary: An intelligent book in an unsatisfactory edition
Review: Gary Wills's VENICE: LION CITY is a very intelligent study in cultural criticism by a popular and eminent American historian: as the book's dustcover makes clear, Simon and Schuster wants to market this as Wills' entry into Simon Schama territory. Basically, he's trying to interpret the most famous works of Venetian Renaissance art and architecture through the pervasive imperial ideology of what was an odd throwback to a Hellenistic city-state. The book works best for someone with a strong familiarity with the art of Venice already, and Wills answers some very intriguing questions along the way both on a factual level (why is the winged lion used to represent St. Mark, the city's patron? Why were Christians in earlier times so obsessed with saints' relics?) and on the interpretive level as well (why are Bellini's Madonnas so inward-looking?). But Simon and Schuster have not served this book well on many levels. It deserves a much fancier format than it is allowed, with much larger reproductions and more full-colored plates: some works Wills discusses (like Titan's "Assumption") are not reproduced at all, and a massive work like Tintoretto's "Crucifixion"--so important to Wills' argument--deserves a two-page (or fold-out) reproduction than the mere one page it receives. Also, someone needed to edit the book much more vigorously. I counted several times when Wills basically repeats an entire paragraph of interpretation from earlier in the work. This is a good book, but not for the casual reader, and it deserves in the future a much more sophisticated revision and re-issue.

Rating:
Summary: A good reference, but boring
Review: I love history, but it has to have a decent narrative. This book does have history, but a good narrative appears sporadically. While better than scholarly writing, this just won't keep you glued to your seat. If you can push yourself to finish you deserve a pat on the back, but don't buy this book if you need to be enthralled.

Rating:
Summary: Great Art Appreciation, Bad History
Review: I read Gary Wills book with great expectations
in preparation for a trip to Venice in February.
It provided a wealth of historical information that
cannot be found in the "tour books" and yet, was an
overall disappointment. The book became most tedious
when it ventured into the art of Titian, Giorgione, et al.
The non-color photographs were poorly produced and
difficult to see, let alone enjoy, in contrast to the
limited number of color plates that do appear. Greater in-depth treatment of the doges and their families would have made this a more interesting study. Perhaps I'll have a greater appreciation for the book after my return from our trip.

Rating:
Summary: Turgid, but- -
Review: I'm afraid "elventh" has it correct. This book is a great study of a specific slice of art history. I read everything Wills writes and pass along his writings to everyone I know, but not this one. For those with the patience and background, (I lack the background, but after reading it I lack less) however, it is fully worth the time.

Rating:
Summary: Venice: Lion City
Review: I'm afraid "elventh" has it correct. This book is a great study of a specific slice of art history. I read everything Wills writes and pass along his writings to everyone I know, but not this one. For those with the patience and background, (I lack the background, but after reading it I lack less) however, it is fully worth the time.

Rating:
Summary: Worthwhile but a Difficult Read
Review: This book is a scholarly work on art in Venice during the Renaissance. There are some color plates but a lot of the art is in black and white. There should have been a lot more color plates.

I found the going pretty heavy here and it is very annoying to have to turn back and forth to see the photographs referred to. There are also a lot of references to art work using catalogue numbers, which I did not understand at all.

I took a long time to read this book--reading other less heavy books at the same time. You will take a long time to read this one too. It may, however, turn out to be the definitive book on Venitian art during the Renaissance. I am not certain, however, that it is a read for the average person. I ultimately read everything I purchase, so I read this one. If I had known how difficult this book would be to read, I probably would not have bought it. Having read it though, I am glad I did.

Rating:
Summary: Venice: Lion City
Review: This book provides some interesting artistic and historic insights to lovers of Venice, but it is a difficult "read" and is often strained in its interpretations and conclusions. It also presumes a fairly advanced knowledge of Venetian art and history. In addition, there are various out-and-out errors: For example, on pg. 19, the Italian word "fondaco" is wrong-- it should be "fondamento"; on pg. 21, the saint identified as Stephen is actually Sebastian; on pg. 264, St. Sebastian's date, stated unequivocally to be 4th century A.D., could just as well have been 3rd century, since sources differ on the point. I would have expected a higher degree of accuracy from this author.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing scholarship, but sometimes heavy reading
Review: This unusual book looks at the history of the Venetian Republic through the eyes of a cultural historian, with special emphasis on the visual symbols of Venetian uniqueness. While the early chapters and the concluding chapter give us intelligent but conventional history writing, much of the book focuses on Wills' interpretations of Venetian Renaissance art and architecture. His intriguing scholarly observations place these works in the context of Venetian history, politics, and society. Wills also highlights many of Venice's most striking personalities. The book is extensively illustrated with black and white reproductions; a central section presents 31 color plates. Readers with a strong interest in the visual arts will find this book fascinating. Other readers may find the second half heavy going.

Rating:
Summary: Art History 312: Renaissance Venice
Review: VENICE: LION CITY is essentially a text book for an art history course. Garry Wills demonstrates how every aspect of society, government and religion that made Venice a great power is expressed in painting, sculpture and architecture of the 15th and 16th centuries.

Wills pulls together a wide range of scholarship and makes it--in one rather compact volume--accessible to the general reader. While it may be a bit dry, the book is interesting and relatively brisk reading.

If you're a Venetophile and would like to know more about art and society at the Serene Republic's height, you should enjoy VENICE: LION CITY.