MICHAEL ANGELO'S great painting of the newly created Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel might be taken as a symbol of the Renaissance, of the time when man was, as it were, re-created more glorious than before, with a body naked and unashamed, and a strong arm, unimpaired by fasting, outstretched towards life and light. Definitions are generally misleading, and it is easier to represent the Renaissance by a symbol than to define it. It was a movement, a revival of man's powers, a re...

MICHAEL ANGELO'S great painting of the newly created Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel might be taken as a symbol of the Renaissance, of the time when man was, as it were, re-created more glorious than before, with a body naked and unashamed, and a strong arm, unimpaired by fasting, outstretched towards life and light. Definitions are generally misleading, and it is easier to represent the Renaissance by a symbol than to define it. It was a movement, a revival of man's powers, a re...

First published in 1889, “Grania” is a novel by Irish author Emily Lawless. Set on the second largest of the three Aran Islands, Inishmaan, it follows the life of the eponymous Grania from her childhood to early womanhood. A wonderful tale of innocent youth and island life that will appeal to those with an interest in Irish history and culture. The Hon. Emily Lawless (1845–1913) was an Irish historian, gardener, poet, entomologist, and novelist of the early modern period. Other notable wor...

“The Story of Ireland” is a 1887 work by Emily Lawless that offers the reader a fantastic overview of Irish history. The Hon. Emily Lawless (1845–1913) was an Irish historian, gardener, poet, entomologist, and novelist of the early modern period. Contents include: “Primeval Ireland”, “The Legends and the Legend Makers”, “Pre-Christian Ireland”, “St Patrick the Missionary”, “The First Irish Monasteries”, “St Columba and the Western Church”, “The Northern Scourge”, “Brian of the Tribute”, “F...

The intellectual basis of the Renaissance was its version of humanism, derived from the concept of Roman Humanitas and the rediscovery of classical Greek philosophy, such as that of Protagoras, who said that "Man is the measure of all things." This new thinking became manifest in art, architecture, politics, science and literature. Early examples were the development of perspective in oil painting and the recycled knowledge of how to make concrete. Although the invention of metal movable t...

The ‘Divine’ sculptor, painter, architect, poet and engineer, Michelangelo Buonarroti exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art, producing masterpieces that rank among the most famous in existence. Delphi’s groundbreaking ‘Masters of Art Series’ presents the world’s first digital e-Art books, allowing digital readers to explore the works of the world’s greatest artists in comprehensive detail. This volume presents the complete works of Michelangelo, with c...

THE PERIOD OF MODERN ART IN ROME But ah, that spring should vanish with the Rose! That youth's sweet-scented manuscript should close? The nightingale that in the branches sang, Oh, where and whither flown again, – who knows? OMAR KHAYYAM.

Written by Baldasar Castiglione, count of Novilara and an Italian courtier himself, "The Book of the Courtier" remains as one of the most important and definitive accounts of Renaissance court life. Organized as a series of fictional conversations that occur between the courtiers of the Duke of Urbino in 1507, "The Book of the Courtier" discusses the expectations of a courtier who must have a warrior spirit, be athletic, and have good knowledge of the humanities, classics and fine arts. As...

'The best conceivable guide to the city' - an essential cultural history for all visitors of FlorenceThe rich and glorious past of one of the best loved cities in the world, Florence, is brought vividly to life for today's visitor in this collection which draws on letters, diaries and memoirs of travellers to Florence and the Florentines themselves.Of all Italian cities, Florence has always had the strongest English accent: the Goncourt bro...

IN our efforts to realise the leading events of our own history we experience no small difficulty from the fact that so much of the face of England has completely altered its outward appearance under the stress of modern development, so that we find it particularly hard to picture to ourselves their original setting. Our overgrown yet ever-spreading capital owns scarcely a feature to-day in common with the London of the Tudors or Plantagenets; the relentless pushing of industrial enterpris...

IN our efforts to realise the leading events of our own history we experience no small difficulty from the fact that so much of the face of England has completely altered its outward appearance under the stress of modern development, so that we find it particularly hard to picture to ourselves their original setting. Our overgrown yet ever-spreading capital owns scarcely a feature to-day in common with the London of the Tudors or Plantagenets; the relentless pushing of industrial enterpris...

Walter Pater (1839-1894) attained a B.A. degree in Classics from Queen's College, Oxford, followed soon after by a M.A. degree from Brasenose College, Oxford, where he was made a Fellow in 1865. That same year Pater toured Italy, where he discovered what would become a lifelong passion for masters of the Italian Renaissance like Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Michelangelo, among many others. In 1877 he published "The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry", which examines the French...