Benozzo Gozzoli.Diane Cole Ahl. New Haven New Haven, city (1990 pop. 130,474), New Haven co., S Conn., a port of entry where the Quinnipiac and other small rivers enter Long Island Sound; inc. 1784. Firearms and ammunition, clocks and watches, tools, rubber and paper products, and textiles are among the many : Yale University Yale University, at New Haven, Conn.; coeducational. Chartered as a collegiate school for men in 1701 largely as a result of the efforts of James Pierpont, it opened at Killingworth (now Clinton) in 1702, moved (1707) to Saybrook (now Old Saybrook), and in 1716 was Press, 1996. 314+ illus. + 340 pp. $60. ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-300-06699-6. Ahl's dissertation on Fra Angelico (1977) prepared her for this fine monograph. She has naturally drawn upon Padoa Rizzo's many recent Gozzoli studies and Catalogo Completo (1992). Subsidized by the Getty Grant Program, this book is reasonably priced and excellently designed by its editor, Gillian Malpass. Inclusion of all drawings by Gozzoli as well as his sinopie, along with many fine color plates, make for a beautiful book. The Medici Medici, Italian family Medici (mĕ`dĭchē, Ital. mā`dēchē), Italian family that directed the destinies of Florence from the 15th cent. until 1737. Chapel frescoes and its seldom seen sanctuary, those at San Gimignano and Castelfiorentino have all been recently cleaned. Ahl's close study of the sinopie affirms the impression given by many of Gozzolli's large scale frescoes - he was a fast worker. Many photographs stressing the frescoes' settings are most valuable. Discussion of portraiture in the Medici Chapel is to the point, original and welcome. The relationship between the art of Masolino, Mantegna, and Gozzoli needs further investigation. It is hard to agree with Ahl's view (introduction) that "Benozzo himself was an innovator in many respects," that "his sacred narratives were among the most dramatic of the era, and his portraits the most realistic. Many narrative compositions and architectural settings are hugely enlarged cassone cassone (käs-sô`nā), the Italian term for chest or coffer, usually a bridal or dower chest, highly ornate and given prominence in the home. , and it is in such a workshop that Gozzoli may have been trained pre-Angelico. Essentially a brilliant decorator and a shrewd assimilator, with occasional flashes of inspiration, the artist was a quick study, learning from Ghiberti (this link discussed at length by Ahl), Masaccio, Filippo Lippi, Castagno, Domenico Veneziano, and Mantegna. Most of Ahl's Trecento tre·cen·to n. The 14th century, especially with reference to Italian art and literature. [Italian, from (mil) trecento, (one thousand) three hundred : tre, three "sources" for Gozzoli's depictions of the same subjects are unconvincing. All in all, this is a learned, conscientious and helpful monograph. One can quarrel with some of the writer's value judgments, these, with most remarks of that genre, ever open to question. COLIN EISLER New York University New York University, mainly in New York City; coeducational; chartered 1831, opened 1832 as the Univ. of the City of New York, renamed 1896. It comprises 13 schools and colleges, maintaining 4 main centers (including the Medical Center) in the city, as well as the |
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