For more than six centuries, European painters have been ambitious to depict objects as if they possessed volume, placing them in a space that seems equivalent to the real space of our world. This "fiction" was central to the artist's purpose. Through a close examination of paintings from the 1400s to the early 20th century, including works by Uccello, Vermeer, Titian, and Monet, Nicholas Penny explains in this latest title in the National Gallery's Closer Look series how artists sought to make the fiction of pictorial space compelling, not only through the use of linear or aerial perspective, but also through the choice and intensity of color, the variations in light, and the texture of the painted surface. Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press

In this intriguing book, E.H. Gombrich, who was one of the world's foremost art historians, traces how cast shadows have been depicted in Western art through the centuries. Gombrich discusses the way shadows were represented--or ignored--by artists from the Renaissance to the 17th century and then describes how Romantic, Impressionist, and Surrealist artists exploited the device of the cast shadow to enhance the illusion of realism or drama in their representations. First published to accompany an exhibition at the National Gallery, London, in 1995, it is reissued here with additional color illustrations and a new introduction by esteemed scholar Nicholas Penny. It is also now available as an enhanced eBook, with zoomable images and accompanying film footage.

Frames often catch the eye and arouse the curiosity of visitors to galleries and museums, yet labels and catalogues rarely comment on them. Nicholas Penny conveys his interest in the history of frames, the design and techniques of frame-making, what frames do for paintings, and the part they play in the decoration and often the architecture of an interior. The emphasis is on the changing function and varied purpose of frames as well as the different styles of ornament, materials, finishes, and techniques used. This Closer Look guide is illustrated by frames from the National Gallery's magnificent collection. Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press

This highly anticipated catalogue of sixteenth-century paintings from the distinguished collection of the National Gallery in London encompasses artists who were active in Bergamo, Brescia, and Cremona, cities characterized as much by the artistic interaction between them as by the influence of Venice. The artists include such well-known names as Lorenzo Lotto, Moretto, and Moroni, along with less familiar ones such as Bartolomeo Veneto and Callisto Piazza. For each of the paintings, distinguished scholar and curator Nicholas Penny provides information about technique and materials, conservation and condition, and subject and iconography. An account of the painting's original patronage is followed by a discussion of changing tastes, interpretation, and how the picture was esteemed (or neglected) over the centuries. One third of the paintings catalogued here are portraits, and entries include fascinating sections on contemporary dress, furnishings, and accessories. An appendix provides an illuminating account of some of the great collectors and collections of the past. Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press

The fruits of sixteen years of discriminating acquisition on the international art market, Robert Smith's is one of the most important collections of European bronzes in private hands today. The collection embraces the Renaissance in Italy and northern Europe in such a way that its components complement and enhance the appreciation of each other. Central to the collection is a group of thirteen pieces that illustrate the legacy of Giambologna in Florence. Also assembled are pieces by independent contemporaries: Alessandro Vittoria and Francesco Segala in the Veneto, and the younger Genoese-born Niccolo Roccatagliata, whose surviving work is of the utmost rarity. A selection of fine early North Italian bronzes serves as an introduction to the collection; the Netherlands and France are also well represented. Many pieces have distinguished provenances, and all have been exhaustively researched. The book comprises not just a catalogue but an important and original contribution to scholarship in its own right. This new and extended version of the first edition retains the entries written by Anthony Radcliffe with a few additions or corrections, and an entry that he drafted on the miniature cannon signed by Orazio Antonio Alberghetti has also been incorporated. New entries have been supplied by Marietta Cambareri, currently Curator of Sculpture in the 'Arts of Europe' section of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, by Fabio Barry, Mellon intern for 2004 in the Department of Sculpture at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., and by Nicholas Penny.

A handsome introduction to one of the most important collections of Italian art in the United States The preeminent collector Norton Simon amassed more than 100 Italian paintings during his 35-year career, and today they stand among the treasures of the Norton Simon Museum. In this catalogue-the first of two volumes devoted to the museum's Italian painting collection-noted art historian Sir Nicholas Penny pairs 47 paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries with in-depth commentary, skillfully interweaving tales from the artists' lives, observations on the artists' influences and patronage, and notes on provenance and frames. The works featured here include Guido Cagnacci's (1601-1663) impressive Conversion of the Mary Magdalene and Guercino's (1591-1666) formidable Aldovrandi Dog, among other works by such artists as Guido Reni (1610/12-1662), Luca Giordano (1634-1705), Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770), and Canaletto (1697-1768). This is an indispensable overview of one of the greatest collections of its kind in the United States. Distributed for the Norton Simon Museum

This substantial and beautifully illustrated volume documents the National Gallery's unrivaled collection of Venetian paintings created between 1540 and 1600, including some of the greatest works commissioned by the city from Veronese, Titian, Tintoretto, and the Bassano family. The collection is so rich and varied that the book serves as an introduction to all the major types of painting produced in Venice during this period--the altarpiece, portrait, confraternity chapel decoration, ceiling and furniture painting, and paintings for the portego (long central hall) of a palace. Among the many important works included are Titian's Vendramin Family Venerating a Relic of the True Cross, Veronese's Family of Darius and four Allegories, and Tintoretto's Origin of the Milky Way. Nicholas Penny provides comprehensive and detailed information reflecting the most up-to-date scholarship on the paintings--many of which have passed through some of the greatest collections in Europe--along with a thorough discussion of their provenance. Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press

This new volume in the series of National Gallery collection catalogues focuses on 16th-century Bologna and Ferrara. The Gallery holds the most important collection of these paintings outside Italy, including works by Garofalo representing his entire range as an artist; exquisite and grotesque miniature narratives by Mazzolino; a large masterpiece by the short-lived genius known as Ortolano; and some of the most dazzling paintings by the eccentric Dosso Dossi. There are two altarpieces by Lorenzo Costa along with his highly original Concert, and Francesco Francia's Buonvisi altarpiece. The book defines the special quality of works from the region, but also traces the influence of Perugino, Raphael, and Titian. New archival and technical research and provenance information reveal the fortunes of artists' reputations across a long arc in the history of taste. Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press