Land, Burton Dunbar, Judith Mann, Marjorie Och, and William E. Wallace."--BOOK JACKET. "This catalog will be accessible to both the art historian and the general reader."--Jacket.

"This is the concluding volume of the catalogue of paintings in the Kress Collection and deals with some 320 works of the German, Early Netherlandish, Flemish and Dutch seventeenth-century, Spanish and French schools. . .Short biographical details on each artist are followed by extensive critical catalogue entries on his works, discussing technique, condition, subject-matter, chronology and other problems. There is also a précis of previous literature on each painting, and the author's views and findings are given at the end." /

Dr Wilson's meticulously researched text is the first comprehensive and in-depth treatment of these holdings. The paintings are presented in rich art-historical contexts and recent technical studies are well illustrated, as are comparative works of art. The greater part of the collection has been examined through infrared reflectography, on which Molly Faries contributes an important essay.

Between 1512 and 1570, Florence underwent dramatic political transformations. As citizens jockeyed for prominence, portraits became an essential means not only of recording a likeness but also of conveying a sitter’s character, social position, and cultural ambitions. This fascinating book explores the ways that painters (including Jacopo Pontormo, Agnolo Bronzino, and Francesco Salviati), sculptors (such as Benvenuto Cellini), and artists in other media endowed their works with an erudite and self-consciously stylish character that made Florentine portraiture distinctive. The Medici family had ruled Florence without interruption between 1434 and 1494. Following their return to power in 1512, Cosimo I de’ Medici, who became the second Duke of Florence in 1537, demonstrated a particularly shrewd ability to wield culture as a political tool in order to transform Florence into a dynastic duchy and give Florentine art the central position it has held ever since. Featuring more than ninety remarkable paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and medals, this volume is written by a team of leading international authors and presents a sweeping, penetrating exploration of a crucial and vibrant period in Italian art.