The Ugly Renaissance, (Paperback)

from wagner.sarah35

A much darker and human portrayal of the iconic Italian Renaissance than is commonly discussed. While the vibrant artwork of the period is thoroughly discussed, the author uses Renaissance art as a lens to view the complex world of Renaissance Italy, focusing on the corrupt politics, skewed econo...

from mattries37315

The Renaissance is always seen by popular culture as the reestablishment of learning and art after the lull of the Dark and Middle Ages, whether this correct or not it is the view Alexander Lee takes on the outset of his book "The Ugly Renaissance." Lee focuses on exposing the dark underbelly of ...

from mbmackay

I found this a tough read. The title and cover blurb suggest a quirky coverage of some more unusual aspects of the renaissance period, but the book is actually more of a detailed scholarly review of the times. The author jumps around over the period of the renaissance to demonstrate particular po...

from baswood

"Its cities were filled with depravity and inequality, its streets thronged with prostitutes and perverted priests, and its houses played home to seduction, sickness, shady back-room deals, and conspiracies of every variety. Bending artists to their will, its foremost patrons were corrupt bankers...

from tuckerresearch

Historian Alexander Lee gives a fine, thematic, popular history of the Renaissance in Italy and focuses on its truer, grittier aspects. We tend to think of the Renaissance by its art and architecture, and think it was this noble time of truth and beauty and art and modern thinking and ideas, etc....