Book Description

The sheer beauty of the work of sixteenth-century artist Parmigianino (1503-40) makes it easy to imagine that he discovered his style without any effort. But nothing so elegant as his drawings and paintings could have been achieved effortlessly. A close study of the artist's work, particularly his drawings, reveals the sources of his style and the creative struggles he endured. This lavishly illustrated book offers a comprehensive reassessment of Parmigianino's work as a draftsman, discussing in detail more than eighty of the artist's works on paper selected from collections around the world. Among Renaissance artists, Parmigianino was perhaps more conscious than any of the potential of the graphic arts to convey, and indeed broadcast, complex ideas. He explored this potential by means of his numerous drawings and through the etchings he produced on his own as well as through the engravings and chiaroscuro that were made after his designs. In these media, the artist's influence traveled farther and wider than it could have through his paintings alone. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (4)

don't buy this -
unless you have a particular interest in the writing of Cecil Gould. Buy the new book on Parmigianino's Paintings by Mary Vaccaro instead (the compliment to her book on the drawings). The reproductions in that book are ten times better than in this one - all colour, superb full page details, full range of paintings (some now cleaned and restored). And it's cheaper. No contest.

Partially Parmigianino
When I first heard of this volume I was quite excited. I was already familiar with the superb series of monographs on other Renaissance painters that Abbeville Press has been putting out over the last several years. However, this one disappointed me. The large size and high price lead one to believe that this is a comprehensive and full review of the great Mannerist painter's work. In point of fact, it's rather skimpy. Many of the major works are missing, in particular the magnificent Conversion of St. Paul. How this significant picture (and it is repeatedly mentioned in the text) was left out is beyond me. It's like reviewing Leonardo's work and leaving out the Last Supper. To make matters worse, at least forty (yes, forty) of the paintings are shown in black and white only. Many of Parmigianino's numerous and wonderful drawings have survived, yet only a few of them appear here (in mostly mediocre and small reproductions). The text is scholarly and well written but offers little new insight into the artist and his work, and it's all too obviously printed in rather big, widely spaced type to make it appear more extensive than it really is. As I mentioned, Abbeville has previously issued superb, spectacular books on artists such as Giotto, Masaccio, Fra Angelico, Carpaccio, Bellini and several others. These are among the very best (perhaps they are THE very best) books on these painters. I don't know what went wrong here. Perhaps the premature death of the author had something to do with it. Even so, the editors should have made sure that the project was finished in a more satisfactory manner. This is, after all, a very expensive art book about an original, important and influential High Renaissance artist on whom very, very little material is available at present. Perhaps one day a revised edition will be published. Even better, maybe someone else will assemble a more comprehensive and competently produced volume on this great painter. In the meantime, this is what we have. I would recommend this volume to libraries but not to most individual art lovers.

Parmigianino
When I first heard of this volume I was quite excited. I was already familiar with the superb series of monographs on other Renaissance painters that Abbeville Press has been putting out over the last several years. However, this one disappointed me. The large size and high price lead one to believe that this is a comprehensive and full review of the great Mannerist painter's work. In point of fact, it's rather skimpy. Many of the major works are missing, in particular the magnificent Conversion of St. Paul. How this significant picture (and it is repeatedly mentioned in the text) was left out is beyond me. It's like reviewing Leonardo's work and leaving out the Last Supper. To make matters worse, at least forty (yes, forty) of the paintings are shown in black and white only. Many of Parmigianino's numerous and wonderful drawings have survived, yet only a few of them appear here (in mostly mediocre and small reproductions). The text is scholarly and well written but offers little new insight into the artist and his work, and it's all too obviously printed in rather big, widely spaced type to make it appear more extensive than it really is. As I mentioned, Abbeville has previously issued superb, spectacular books on artists such as Giotto, Masaccio, Fra Angelico, Carpaccio, Bellini and several others. These are among the very best (perhaps they are THE very best) books on these painters. I don't know what went wrong here. Perhaps the premature death of the author had something to do with it. Even so, the editors should have made sure that the project was finished in a more satisfactory manner. This is, after all, a very expensive art book about an original, important and influential High Renaissance artist on whom very, very little material is available at present. Perhaps one day a revised edition will be published. Even better, maybe someone else will assemble a more comprehensive and competently produced volume on this great painter. In the meantime, this is what we have. I would recommend this volume to libraries but not to most individual art lovers.

A pretty good book
I read this book hoping to learn more about Parmigianino's life than I already knew (from Vasari's Lives of the Artist). Unfortunately, this book doesn't offer much more. This book addresses the chronology of his paintings (within a summary of his life), and relates his paintings to each other, and to other works of art. It includes most of his paintings (I don't think it includes all of them), but some of them are not in color. ... Read more