Mother Goddess in Italian Renaissance Art

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Summary: Italian Renaissance Masters and the Mother Goddess
Review: This heavily illustrated hardcover book (89 figures) exemplifies Edith Balas's expertise in art history, this time with a focus on the Renaissance. The Great Mother under several names, particularly Cybele, has fascinated historians of religion, philosophy and art for centuries. Dr. Balas presents the works of Michelangelo, Botticelli, Mantegna, Romano, Fiorentino and others as examples of artists fascinated by the Mother Goddess. She theorizes that the rise of Neoplatonism generated in turn an interest in the Great Mother and this interest can be seen in much of Renaissance art.