Art History book of the week

The Northern Renaissance by Jeffrey Chipps Smith (Phaidon)

The Northern Renaissance is often a neglected style as it coincides with the Italian Renaissance which receives more attention. This book aims at bringing this period in the spotlight, presenting some of the most impressive works of painting, sculpture and architecture and discussing artists from Germany, the Low Countries, France, Britain and Austria. The works of art are not only discussed in terms of their stylistic characteristics but are at the same time placed in the historical context of the Protestant Reformation, the Renaissance ideals and the discovery of the new world. The book is lavishly illustrated and easy to read providing thus a very good introduction to Northern Renaissance art.