Review by Choice Review
Pincus (emeritus, Univ. of British Columbia; National Gallery of Art) has written a new chapter in the history of Venetian art: a study of the little-known ducal tombs of the 13th and 14th centuries. Though the tombs are her clear focus, this is far from a narrowly specialized account; instead, Pincus brilliantly situates the tombs within a rich artistic, historical, and political matrix, and along the way offers fascinating insights into a range of major Venetian monuments and artists, from San Marco to Titian. Pincus opens by tracing the relevant political history, especially the history of the office of doge, focusing on the great expansion of Venetian power in the wake of the Fourth Crusade (1204). Not surprisingly, the new public tombs, monuments to the imperial ambitions of the Venetian state, appear by midcentury. Pincus cogently describes these new structures as "instrument(s) of statecraft and of civic identity," and in subsequent chapters she demonstrates the ways in which these tombs fulfilled that function. In sum, an elegantly argued, highly readable account offering a wealth of material to any student of Italian history or culture. General readers; undergraduates through faculty. A. Derbes; Hood College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
