The Renaissance was an era of artistic awakening. The recovery of the Greco-Roman heritage from the East and the Byzantine examples imported to the West inspired artists to abandon the modestly scaled, abstracted representations of the Middle Ages in favor of monumental images that blatantly reflected their abilities. Artists, in fact, began to sign their works with great pride because the achievement of the individual was now celebrated, an honor earlier denied by the collectivist mind-set that had permeated the medieval era. The old techniques from the ancients were revived and new ones were developed to achieve greater verism. Although the art of the Renaissance still functioned as object for religious devotion and instruction, secular themes were introduced as well. No longer merely a utilitarian object, art became a pricey commodity that could be collected, sold, gifted, and appreciated purely for its aesthetic qualities. Much of the Renaissance impulse was determined by rivalries among artists as well as patrons who wished to outshine each other, rivalries that resulted in some of the most remarkable achievements in the history of art.
To attempt to condense the history of Renaissance art into a reference book such as this is a major challenge. Therefore, I have had no other option but to be very selective. The most important artists of the era, major patrons, and key Renaissance masterpieces are certainly included. Important events in history that may have either affected the production of art or that place the material at hand in its proper historical context, as well as art technique and the most often rendered subjects are also featured. The Renaissance inaugurated the concept of recording the lives of the artists and their activities in biographical compendia. It was also a time when masters theorized about art and architecture and recorded their thoughts in writing. Therefore, entries on these themes also figure in the dictionary. However, I have had to exclude most of the material pertaining to the rich history of manuscript illumination in Northern Europe, a decision based on the fact that many of these objects were rendered by anonymous masters. Also missing are entries on Netherlandish and German architecture since, for the most part, it remained essentially Gothic.
Aside from factual material, I have written on the formal aesthetic qualities of each work discussed, as these reveal the unique expressive power of each one of the masters who created them. It is my hope that readers will see this book not merely as reference tool but also as a springboard to further research.