Color and Meaning: Practice and Theory in Renaissance Painting

How Renaissance painters used color to unify their pictures, exploit symbolism and achieve emotional expressiveness is the theme of this handsomely illustrated monograph, which focuses on 20 paintings. Hall, an associate professor of art history at Temple University, highlights Leonardo's naturalistic use of shadowy midtones in the Mona Lisa , the way Michelangelo's fleshy hues dynamically link the figures in the Sistine Chapel vault, Titian's predilection for bright, saturated colors to create movement and Piero della Francesca's innovative experiments with oils. Hall makes us realize that, given the Renaissance's limited palette, the harmonious, radiant compositions achieved were marvels indeed. For the Mannerists, she shows, color was just as important as distortions of form in disrupting classical style. This sophisticated study combines traditional analysis with a consideration of recent scientific findings from conservation laboratories. (June)