The development of art theory over the course of the Renaissance and Baroque eras is reflected in major stylistic shifts. In order to elucidate the relationship between theory and practice, we must consider the wider connections between art theory, poetic theory, natural philosophy, and related epistemological matrices. Investigating the interdisciplinary reality of framing art-making and interpretation, this treatment rejects the dominant synchronic approach to history and historiography and seeks to present anew a narrative that ties together various formal approaches, focusing on stylistic transformation in particular artist’s oeuvres – Michelangelo, Annibale Carracci, Guercino, Guido Reni, Poussin, and others – and the contemporary environments that facilitated them. Through the dual understanding of the art-theoretical concept of the Idea, an evolution will be revealed that illustrates the embittered battles over style and the overarching intellectual shifts in the period between art production and conceptualization based on Aristotelian and Platonic notions of creativity, beauty and the goal of art as an exercise in encapsulating the “divine” truth of nature.

Embark on a journey that transcends the boundaries of art and technology in the groundbreaking realm of Creative Convergence: The AI Renaissance in Art and Design. This isn't just another book on art and technology- it's a journey that sparks curiosity, fuels innovation, and challenges traditional artistic boundaries. Discover the power of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) as it melds with human expression, propelling artistry into uncharted territories and redefining traditional notions of both originality and creativity. The text is not just about art or AI; it is about the fusion of both, catalyzing a creative revolution that challenges previous assumptions about human-machine collaboration and how ideation, conceptualization, process and execution are radically rethought. Have you ever wondered how/will AI revolutionize training, education and execution in art and design? Delve into this captivating treatment that contextualizes the disruptions we are experiencing today in the technological innovations and artistic responses and integrations of the past five hundred years. Human creativity has always struggled against technological advance, but ultimately integrated and redefined what "art" is in each era. As such, you will see how AI can be incorporated in various artistic disciplines in this study. Explore real-world case studies that showcase AI's practical impact on 3D design, drawing, digital art, and even web design. The book also addresses the controversial question: Can AI be a co-creator in the creative and artistic process, even assisting in creating an original, signature style? Brace yourself for revelations that will challenge your perceptions of traditional artistry.

The Arma Christi, the cluster of objects associated with Christ’s Passion, was one of the most familiar iconographic devices of European medieval and early modern culture. From the weapons used to torment and sacrifice the body of Christ sprang a reliquary tradition that produced active and contemplative devotional practices, complex literary narratives, intense lyric poems, striking visual images, and innovative architectural ornament. This collection displays the fascinating range of intellectual possibilities generated by representations of these medieval ’objects,’ and through the interdisciplinary collaboration of its contributors produces a fresh view of the multiple intersections of the spiritual and the material in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. It also includes a new and authoritative critical edition of the Middle English Arma Christi poem known as ’O Vernicle’ that takes account of all twenty surviving manuscripts. The book opens with a substantial introduction that surveys previous scholarship and situates the Arma in their historical and aesthetic contexts. The ten essays that follow explore representative examples of the instruments of the Passion across a broad swath of history, from some of their earliest formulations in late antiquity to their reformulations in early modern Europe. Together, they offer the first large-scale attempt to understand the arma Christi as a unique cultural phenomenon of its own, one that resonated across centuries in multiple languages, genres, and media. The collection directs particular attention to this array of implements as an example of the potency afforded material objects in medieval and early modern culture, from the glittering nails of the Old English poem Elene to the coins of the Middle English poem ’Sir Penny,’ from garments and dice on Irish tomb sculptures to lanterns and ladders in Hieronymus Bosch’s panel painting of St. Christopher, and from the altar of the Sistine Chapel to the printed prayer books of the Reformation.

Did the Florentine philosopher Marsilio Ficino (1433-99) influence the art of his time? This book starts with an exploration of Ficino’s views on the imagination and discusses whether, how and why these ideas may have been received in Italian Renaissance works of art.

Seeking a broad reexamination of visual culture through the lenses of ecocriticism, environmental justice, and animal studies, this compendium offers a diverse range of art-historical criticism formulated within an ecological context. Picture Ecology brings together scholars whose contributions extend chronologically and geographically from 11th-century Chinese painting to contemporary photography of California wildfires. The book's 17 interdisciplinary essays provide a dynamic, cross-cultural approach to an increasingly vital area of study, emphasizing the environmental dimensions inherent in the content and materials of aesthetic objects. Picture Ecology provides valuable new approaches for considering works of art, in ways that are timely, intellectually stimulating, and universally significant.

This book provides a fully contextualised overview on aspects of visual culture, and how this was the product of patronage, politics, and religion in some European countries between the 13th and 17th centuries. The research that is showcased here offers new perspectives on the conception, production and reception of artworks as a means of projecting core values, ideals, and traditions of individuals, groups, and communities. This volume features contributions from established scholars and new researchers in the field, and examines how art contributed to the construction of identities by means of new archival research and a thorough interdisciplinary approach. The authors suggest that the use of conventions in style and iconography allowed the local and wider community to take part in rituals and devotional practices where these works were widely recognized symbols. However, alongside established traditions, new, ad-hoc developments in style and iconography were devised to suit individual requirements, and these are fully discussed in relevant case-studies. This book also contributes to a new understanding of the interaction between artists, patrons, and viewers in Medieval and Renaissance times.

In this important and revelatory book, David Young Kim examines how mobility and travel affected the identities and artistic styles of artists such as Giotto, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Lotto, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian. It is well known that Italian Renaissance artists traveled; this book considers the cultural and historical contexts of their voyages. Kim establishes connections between artists’ travel and responses to their work in early modern literature, with critical analysis of 16th-century written culture. Relevant themes in Giorgio Vasari’s monumental Lives of the Artists are explored in depth. Through new readings of critical ideas, prejudices, and entire biographies in Renaissance art literature, Kim makes a groundbreaking case for the circuitous development of the artists’ individual styles, offering a complex understanding of how the concepts of mobility and identity were changing in a shifting and widening world.