A study of Renaissance Italy and the north, focusing on crosscurrents in the time of Durer, Bellini and Titian. It contains essays on subjects such as the invention of oil painting; Netherlandish music and musicians in the City of Doges; and commercial contacts and intellectual inspirations.
In the words of the historian Jacob Burkhardt, 15th-century Italy was 'the place where the notion of the individual was born'. In keeping with this notion, early Renaissance Italy also hosted the first great age of portraiture in Europe. This title provides research and insight into the early history of portraiture.