Painters of Reality: The Legacy of Leonardo and Caravaggio in Lombardy

Rating:
Summary: When a Catalogue Becomes More Then A Catalogue!
Review: PAINTERS OF REALITY: THE LEGEND OF LEONARDO AND CARAVAGGIO IN LOMBARDY may have been design to accompany an exhibit by the same name in both Italy and in the United States, but the quality of this publication goes far beyond the usual museum catalogue into the realm of important art history books for the permanent library.

Curator Andrea Bayer has assembled plentiful examples of the drawings of Leonardo and the paintings of not only Leonardo and Caravaggio along with painters less well known to the public such as Savoldo, Ceruti, Moroni and others, and in doing so she opens the windows of artistic light that resulted form the new vision of painting the real in the region of Lombardy. Not only are the reproductions of the paintings and drawings of the highest caliber, the accompanying essays by Bayer, Mina Gregori, Martin Kemp, Linda Wolk-Simon, Enrico De Pascale, Giulio Bora, Mario Marubbi, Keith Christiansen, Laura Lanzeni, and Robert S. Miller are elegantly and resourcefully written and add tot he stature of this beautiful book.

Even for those who feel they have sufficient material on this exciting time of painting will want to add this exemplary volume to their libraries. Highly Recommended for art lovers at every level. Grady Harp. January 2004