Correggio's depiction of the Virgin's Assumption into heaven, painted in the cupola of the Duomo of Parma, is widely viewed as one of the most inventive and influential fresco cycles of the Renaissance. Even so, the very elements that make the work so powerful--its lively iconography and its illusionism--have long been decried by critics for their apparent illegibility and lack of decorum. In the first book-length study of these frescoes in English, Carolyn Smyth counters such negative criticism by taking into account the viewer's in situ experience of the frescoes. In so doing, she offers a new reading that explores the artist's knowing use of figural perspective, the architectural and liturgical context, and the religious significance of the theme. Aided by new photographs of the fresco, taken by Ralph Lieberman, Smyth leads the reader from the door of the cathedral to the apse, in order to examine the lay worshipper's experience from a series of partial views in the nave and the contrasting vistas of the clergy in the presbytery. As each of these separately revealed sequences of the cycle is discussed, new elements appear and are interpreted. The gestures, figural relationships, activities, and attributes visible from each viewpoint convey specific meanings that reveal, too, the most relevant aspect of the Assumption theme for the participant below. Not only the spatial communicativeness of the painting but also the affective warmth of Correggio's style are seen as means to celebrate Mary's redemptive role and its implications for the Christian audience.

Bringing together works from numerous important collections on both sides of the Atlantic, this catalogue presents a broad survey of Correggio and Parmigianino, with all the drawings illustrated in colour.

"Explores the history and architecture of two city squares, constructed by rival political parties, in the Italian city of Parma from 1196 to 1300"--Provided by publisher.

The Court Cities of Northern Italy examines painting, sculpture, decorative arts, and architecture produced within the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries.

This book interprets a number of Dickens' works through the detailed analysis of a single characterization in each. It is mainly concerned with the textual functions of characters, i.e., with how analyses of Dickens's methods of characterization help us understand what characters do within his texts. The author presents a selective variety of major and minor characters. Included are examples from the three main periods of Dickens's career, from his non-fiction as well as fiction, and from the combination of both that is Sketches by Boz. There is an emphasis on the later books and particularly on Our Mutual Friend. Contents: IntroductionóSome Sketches by Boz; Modifying SummariesóThe Fat Boy in The Pickwick Papers; Young Bailey in Martin Chuzzlewit; Gaffer Hexam in Our Mutual Friend; NarratorsóSome Epistolary Personae; The Troubled Traveler in Pictures From Italy; The Sentimental Paternalist in A Christmas Carol; Extending the Interface: The Third Narrator in Bleak House; The Middle-aged Businessman: The Narrator of Great Expectations; Sexism and Class Bias: The Narrator of Our Mutual Friend; Two Re-readersóKnowing What Happens in Our Mutual Friend; Droodiana and The Mystery of Edwin Drood; Characterisation and Ideas in Little Dorrit: Clennam and Calvinism; Characterisation and Structure: John Harmon in Our Mutual Friend; Story and Text.

This beautifully illustrated book is the first full-scale chronological and critical account of the paintings and drawings of Correggio (1489-1534)--a genius of the Italian Renaissance. The author places the artist in the context of 16th-century Italy and his isolation from fellow artists of the period, examines his particular creative process, and sheds new light on Correggio's patrons. 200 color and 50 b&w illustrations.