{The Renaissance (again) [continued (14)]}{– The Renaissance Spirit [continued]}[2nd May 1991]

[Redbook9:242-243][19910502:1730d]{The Renaissance (again) [continued (14)]}{– The Renaissance Spirit [continued]}[2nd May 1991]

19910502:1730

[continued]

‘Why, then, is the Italian antique manner so often misinterpreted, even mangled, in the North? The answer lies in the nature of the Renaissance style which is a spirit, a way of doing things, rather than just a collection of motifs. Reproductive illustrations, whether of details or whole buildings, can convey only motifs, not essential principles: these can be thoroughly grasped only by studying antique art and Italian productions “in situ”. The North, with fundamentally different traditions from the South, attempted to graft Renaissance motifs onto a pre-existent style; the result was often a confusing mixture of old and new, of Gothic and Renaissance, without those qualities of unity and simplicity so sought after by the Italians. Only when northern artists began to visit Italy in large numbers, from about the middle of the 16^th century, did this state of affairs change.’

***

*{cf [[Redbook9:214][19910430:1230d]{Renaissance Sculpture (and Classical Influence) [continued (4)]}[30th April 1991],] 214}

**C,R~

*** – ibid [Encyclopaedia of Visual Art 4:] 640

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