The Sensory World Of Italian Renaissance Art

Francois Quiviger

"The Renaissance often refers to an era when art, philosophy and other profound expressions of human culture underwent a revolutionary rebirth. New ideas, however, grew in the cradle of old modes of thinking: the Renaissance inherited and developed a medieval conception of the mind based on the assumption that there was nothing in the mind that had not reached it via the senses. Nowhere is this more noticeable than in the world of art. n The Sensory World of Renaissance Art François Quiviger explores the ways in which sensations began to take on a new significance in the art of the sixteenth century. He discusses the presence and function of sensation in Renaissance ideas and practices, investigating their link to mental imagery and shows how Renaissance artists made touch, sound and scent palpable to the minds of their audience. He points to the shifts in ideas and theories on...