The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy
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Product Description
For nineteenth-century Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt, the Italian Renaissance was nothing less than the beginning of the modern world - a world in which flourishing individualism and the competition for fame radically transformed science, the arts, and politics. In this landmark work he depicts the Italian city-states of Florence, Venice and Rome as providing the seeds of a new form of society, and traces the rise of the creative individual, from Dante to Michelangelo. A fascinating description of an era of cultural transition, this nineteenth-century masterpiece was to become the most influential interpretation of the Italian Renaissance, and anticipated ideas such as Nietzsche's concept of the 'Ubermensch' in its portrayal of an age of genius.
About the Author
Jacob Burckhardt (1818-1897) intended to join the Church, but lost his faith while studying theology. Thereafter he studied history at the University of Basel, gaining his doctorate in 1843 and becoming a lecturer. He moved to the Zurich Polytechnic as Professor of Architecture and History in 1855, which is where he wrote The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy. In 1858 he returned to Basel, where he lived for his work as a teacher at the University.
Peter Burke is Reader in Cultural History, University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Emmanuel College. He has published widely on the Renaissance and cultural history.
Peter Murray was Emeritus Professor of the History of Art at the University of London. He taught at the Courtauld Institute from 1949-1967 and was subsequently chair of Art History at Birkbeck College. He published widely on the architecture of the Renaissance. He died in 1992.
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First Sentence
THIS WORK bears the title of an essay in the strictest sense of the word. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
THIS WORK bears the title of an essay in the strictest sense of the word. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
50 of 54 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
For much of the last 139 years, Jacob Burckhardt's work has been dismissed as too "Nineteenth Century" for serious study: more literature than serious history. So much the pity. What Burckhardt left us in The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy is a magisterial, thematic, understanding of the Italian Renaissance that is far more 1990's in its observations and human understandings than its original 1860's. It is a shame that Burckhardt's famous pupil, Nietzsche, didn't learn a little more balance and discretion at his elder's feet. This book is a joy to read. Like Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, this work shows us how history can engage the spirit, and how far off the mark some modern historians have gone with their more "scholarly" work.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Of all the books that give a general account of the Renaissance in Italy, I've found this one to be the most entertaining, enlightening and thought-provoking. What I enjoyed most of all is the abundance of specific details in this book, which may be due to its very well-structured contents: it touches on everything and more, and even gets down to the 'nitty gritty' details where it can.
It begins by looking at despots, dynasties, republics and society. Once groups are dealt with, personalities are explored. It then moves into antiquity and the significance of humanism, the classics etc for Italy at the time. The exploration of the world is addressed, followed by categorised information about society - festivals, customs, even a paragraph or two on what measures some women took to improve their appearance. To close, Burckhardt looks at religion, morality, and the general state of mind in renaissance Italy.
I've never read a more information-packed book, full of characters and events; it is by his genius that Burckhardt managed to stitch this altogether so seamlessly.
It begins by looking at despots, dynasties, republics and society. Once groups are dealt with, personalities are explored. It then moves into antiquity and the significance of humanism, the classics etc for Italy at the time. The exploration of the world is addressed, followed by categorised information about society - festivals, customs, even a paragraph or two on what measures some women took to improve their appearance. To close, Burckhardt looks at religion, morality, and the general state of mind in renaissance Italy.
I've never read a more information-packed book, full of characters and events; it is by his genius that Burckhardt managed to stitch this altogether so seamlessly.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It has been years since I read this but I thought i'd add a positive review because it seemed a little unloved here on Amazon. This is one of the most thrilling, enjoyable History books I've ever read and I would warmly recommend it to anyone with any interest in this period of History. Very well written and filled with fascinating detail it illuminate one of the most interesting periods in human history.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The birth of the modern State and the modern Man
In this excellently documented book, J. Burckhardt gives an in depth analysis of the political, philosophical, religious and human revolution of the Renaissance in Italy. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Luc REYNAERT
weird and wacky
Yes of course it is important as an historical artefact. But really it is as far removed from reality as we know it as the Renaissance period which is the subject of this,... Read more
Published 14 months ago by andrew james
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