The art in medieval cathedrals; in addition to its profound aesthetic appeal; told unlettered churchgoers a series of morality tales. From divine creation to the lives of the saints; the stone sculpture and stained glass windows provided dramatic illustrations of the key elements of Christian doctrine. Unfortunately; the true meaning of these religious artworks was gradually obscured by time. In 1913; however; this brilliant study appeared; clarifying and illuminating the original ideas and concepts behind the sacred art of the Middle Ages. The book was hailed by Bernard Berenson as "the most illuminating; the most informing and the most penetrating book on the subject."Focusing on the 13th century as the apotheosis of the medieval style; Macirc;le; a noted art historian; explains that the decorative features of French cathedrals served as testimonials of religious faith. His topics include medieval iconography; bestiaries; illustrated calendars; representations of the virtues and vices; symbolic windows; saints; the gospels; secular history; and many other aspects of medieval religious art. This groundbreaking work; enhanced with 190 illustrations that buttress the points made in the text; remains unsurpassed in its style and brilliant synthesis of many disparate elements of the topic.
#1652774 in eBooks 2012-11-16 2012-11-16File Name: B00A73B0V8
Review
47 of 51 people found the following review helpful. This is really an odd bookBy Reading RocksI am a big fan of Audrey Hepburn - of her movies and of her style and elegance; so when this book came out I knew that I would be buying it. It is a compilation of all black/white photos of Ms. Hepburn during the time she visited/worked; and ultimately lived in Rome. 95% of the photos show her just walking around the city (walking her dog; walking with a friend; walking with her first; then second husband; walking by herself) and at Romes airports (getting on a plane; getting off of a plane; going thru Customs); the remaining 5% of the photos are of her at events or premieres. There are approximately 6-10 pages throughout the book with some narrative (and even those do not necessarily take up the entire page). Example: "title" page called: S-The Scarf with a little blurb about her wearing a scarf around her neck; on the opposite side of the "title" page is a small photo of her wearing a scarf around her neck. Thats it. When you turn the page; it just continues with photos of her walking in Rome. The first 3-4 pages of the book provide the most narrative and they are written by her son; Luca Dotti who co-authored this book. He writes about her time in Rome. Each photo is captioned with only the date; name(s) of who is in the photo; and location (if it is known by the author). She certainly was; and still is; a fashion icon and her clothes are just so simply elegant that it would have been great to have additional captioning on who designed an outfit; maybe a little history of an outfit; etc. There are 2 Appendices at the end of the book that give one a timeline of her career albeit very; very cursory; and the other Appendix lists her movies. You do see the changing fashion styles moving from the 1950s to the 1970s but I am still mystified as to the purpose of this book other than Audrey Hepburn is in every photo and shes in Rome. So; I guess the books title was certainly honest. Seriously; how many photos can one look at of Audrey Hepburn just walking up the stairs; down the stairs; across the street; on a sidewalk? As I stated earlier; I am a fan of her work and style; but after the first 10-20 pages; even I needed something of way more substance than this. More information on the captioning would have helped considerably and this book would have greatly benefited from an objective editor or just an editor.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Lovely AudreyBy John SchwartzIts hard to be original in describing my feelings about "Audrey in Rome". I met her as a boy of 7 when she visited us as part of our family in Holland during World War II. She became such a wonderful icon for many years later; something I could have never anticipated. "Audrey in Rome" is a revelation of her splendid time there and the wonderful photographs reveal its happy part. Luca Dotti and his collaborators deserve great credit for putting it together. Its a magnificent photo book that is displayed on my reading table; to keep looking at it and enjoy her memory. I wrote a short story about how I met Audrey as a boy and then later in Geneva. It is also available on .com; simply entitled "Audrey". John Schwartz [...].0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy Audrey in RomeI love Audrey; I love Rome; but the photo quality if poor.