Titian /

Humfrey (Univ. of St. Andrews, Scotland) has accomplished so very much in this brilliant survey of the life and art of protean, long-lived Venetian painter Tiziano Vecellio (d. 1576). Titian scholarship is some of the most extensive in the history of art, and Humfrey has intelligently addressed much of it in an effectively organized, elegantly written text. Within a chronological framework, the author considers selected works from a number of angles: as a representative sampling of Titian's oeuvre, as response to varied patronage, for developing pictorial style and technique, for subject matter and interpretation, as evidence of the artist's creative imagination and processes, and for impact on subsequent art. Discussion ranges from being broadly contextual, taking in Venetian intellectual and political history, to closely personal, documenting known details of the artist's life and meteoric rise in status. The book follows the publisher's beautifully produced art-monograph format with many color images, summary biographies and glossary, a limited bibliography, and a frustrating lack of citation. The 166 illustrations include paintings, drawings, X-rays, sculptures, prints, manuscripts, medals, architecture, and a map. It will be a crucial addition to Renaissance collections. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. J. B. Gregory Delaware College of Art and Design