This title was first published in 2000: Fashioning Identities analyses some of the different ways in which identities were fashioned in and with art during the Renaissance, taken as meaning the period c.1300-1600. The notion of such a search for new identities, expressed in a variety of new themes, styles and genres, has been all-pervasive in the historical and critical literature dealing with the period, starting with Burckhardt, and it has been given a new impetus by contemporary scholarship using a variety of methodological approaches. The identities involved are those of patrons, for whom artistic patronage was a means of consolidating power, projecting ideologies, acquiring social prestige or building a suitable public persona; and artists, who developed a distinctive manner to fashion their artistic identity, or drew attention to aspects of their artistic personality either in self portraiture, or the style and placing of their signature, or by exploiting a variety of literary forms. Several papers also attend to the fashioning of identities and meanings in Renaissance art by the spectator or critic and the ways in which these might or might not differ from those that were intended by the patron or artist. Though several of the studies deal with relatively little known material, from Ferrara, Brescia, or Tudor England, the majority aim to treat well known artists and works, such as Giotto, Michelangelo or Cellini, in a fresh way. Most of the essays are based on papers given at the conference of the Association of Art Historians held in 1998.

In this Volume, published in1998, Fifteen scholars reveal the ways of preserving, conceiving and creating beauty were as diverse as the cultural influenced at work at the time, deriving from antique, medieval and more recent literature and philosophy, and from contemporary notions of morality and courtly behaviour. Approaches include discussion of contemporary critical terms and how these determined writers' appreciation of paintings, sculpture, architecture and costume; studies of the quest to create beauty in the work of artists such as Botticeli, Leonardo, Raphael, Parmigianino and Vasari; and the investigation of changes functioning of the eye and brain, or to technical innovations like those found in Venetian glass.

This enlightening book aims to fill the gap in the literature on women's lives from the mid-fourteenth to the mid-seventeenth century, a time in which Italian urban societies saw much debate on the nature of women and on their roles, education and behaviour. Indeed these were debates which would in subsequent years resonate throughout Europe as a whole. Using a broad range of contemporary source material, most of which has never been translated before, this book illuminates the ideals and realities informing the lives of women within the context of civic and courtly culture. The text is divided into three sections: contemporary views on the nature of women, and ethical and aesthetic ideals seen as suitable to them; life cycles from birth to death, punctuated by the rites of passage of betrothal, marriage and widowhood; women's roles in the convent, the court, the workplace, and in cultural life. Through their exploration of these themes, Rogers and Tinagli demonstrate that there was no single 'Renaissance woman'. The realities of women(1)s experiences were rich and various, and their voices speak of diverse possibilities for emotionally rich and socially useful lives. This will be essential reading for students and teachers of society and culture during the Italian Renaissance, as well as gender historians working on early modern Europe. -- .

Originally published in 2000. Fashioning Identities analyses some of the different ways in which identities were fashioned in and with art during the Renaissance, taken as meaning the period c.1300-1600. The notion of such a search for new identities, expressed in a variety of new themes, styles and genres, has been all-pervasive in the historical and critical literature dealing with the period, starting with Burckhardt, and it has been given a new impetus by contemporary scholarship using a variety of methodological approaches. The identities involved are those of patrons, for whom artistic patronage was a means of consolidating power, projecting ideologies, acquiring social prestige or building a suitable public persona; and artists, who developed a distinctive manner to fashion their artistic identity, or drew attention to aspects of their artistic personality either in self portraiture, or the style and placing of their signature, or by exploiting a variety of literary forms.

To Rogers, an award-winning columnist for the ""Fort Worth Star-Telegram"", that term signifies a pact between the writer, the subject and the reader: only when stories eliminate artifice and express honest beliefs and emotions can they merit attention and trust. It's a phrase and philosophy unique to Rogers, and as a result the stories in ""Dancing Naked: Memorable Encounters with Unforgettable Texans"" are unique, too. You've never read anything like them, and besides making you think, Rogers' lyrical writing style and memorable insights into the traumas and triumphs of the human spirit will make you feel.Published in the ""Star-Telegram"" from 1991 through 2007, the stories of ""Dancing Naked"" present a compelling look at a variety of Texans (a few famous, and all unforgettable) and include a half-dozen essays from Rogers about her own colorful life. It's a collection that will touch and inspire every reader, which is what fine writing is supposed to accomplish.

In this Volume, published in1998, Fifteen scholars reveal the ways of preserving, conceiving and creating beauty were as diverse as the cultural influenced at work at the time, deriving from antique, medieval and more recent literature and philosophy, and from contemporary notions of morality and courtly behaviour. Approaches include discussion of contemporary critical terms and how these determined writers' appreciation of paintings, sculpture, architecture and costume; studies of the quest to create beauty in the work of artists such as Botticeli, Leonardo, Raphael, Parmigianino and Vasari; and the investigation of changes functioning of the eye and brain, or to technical innovations like those found in Venetian glass.

The anthology of original sources from c.1400 to 1650, translated form Italian or Latin, and accompanied by introductions and bibliographies, is concerned with women's varied involvement with the visual arts and material culture of their day. The readers gains a sense of women not only as patrons of architecture, painting, sculpture and the applied arts, but as users of art both on special occasions, like civic festivities or pilgrimages, and in everyday social and devotional life. As they seek to adapt and embellish their persons and their environments, acquire paintings for solace or prestige, or cultivate relationships with artists, women emerge as discerning participants in the consumer culture of their time, and often as lively commentators on it. Their fervent participation in religious life is also seen in their use of art in devotional rituals, or their commissioning of tombs or altarpieces to perpetuate their memory and aid them in the afterlife. -- .

To Rogers, an award-winning columnist for the ""Fort Worth Star-Telegram"", that term signifies a pact between the writer, the subject and the reader: only when stories eliminate artifice and express honest beliefs and emotions can they merit attention and trust. It's a phrase and philosophy unique to Rogers, and as a result the stories in ""Dancing Naked: Memorable Encounters with Unforgettable Texans"" are unique, too. You've never read anything like them, and besides making you think, Rogers' lyrical writing style and memorable insights into the traumas and triumphs of the human spirit will make you feel.Published in the ""Star-Telegram"" from 1991 through 2007, the stories of ""Dancing Naked"" present a compelling look at a variety of Texans (a few famous, and all unforgettable) and include a half-dozen essays from Rogers about her own colorful life. It's a collection that will touch and inspire every reader, which is what fine writing is supposed to accomplish.