Venice--Art and Architecture

Two excellent books on Venice that helped me get my mind around this one-of-a-kind city are Venice from the Ground Up and Tales of the City. Here are my notes on these books:

Venice from the Ground Up
McGregor, James H.S.
2006
A highly-detailed, valuable architectural history of Venezia. In places, it's hard to put down, but in other places, the sophisticated jargon employed stilts the narrative and one just tries to plod on through. Offers expert opinions on art and architecture. Some of the opinions were beyond my knowledge base, but this gave me a nice sense of what makes Venice such a treasure.

Venice: Tales of the City

Lovric, Michelle

2005

Historical excerpts about the most unique city in the history of the world, from natives and visitors and travelers from across the planet. On the whole, a rich and rewarding book, although some of the excerpts require so much setup for them to make sense...probably could have been a bit shorter. Well worth the read, though.

It's a nice surprise to find a post here from someone asking about getting a more in-depth understanding (contrasted with the usual snippets from the guidebooks that most of us end up relying on) of what they're going to be seeing in Europe!First, I'd think you'll have a wider selection of books in English if you buy online or at bookstores in the UK, before you go.Okay, for specific books:Surprisingly (don't laugh), pages 206 - 216 of Rick's Europe 101: History & Art for the Traveler provide a 10-page, overview of the art, architecture, and history of Renaissance Venice. Other pages of that book briefly cover other Venetian periods. I hope it's obvious that Rick didn't intend the book to be an in depth treatment--but IMHO the book is surprisingly good, I've had the feeling Rick's friend Gene Openshaw (co-author) contributed substantially. If you buy this book (which you can buy on this website, BTW), get the current edition (the 7th), which has color plates, earlier editions didn't.A more in-depth treatment of Venetian art and architecture can be found in certain portions of the book Renaissance, by Andrew Graham-Dixon (1999). Two classic books of Italian Renaissance history and culture, and how they influenced Italian art and architecture, are:J. Burckhardt, The Civilization of the Renaissance in ItalyG. Vasari, The Lives of the Artists.Another idea: Sometimes private guides with an art history degree and English proficiency are worth the money, especially if it's just for a few hours. I don't know of any but in Venice I'm sure they're available, you can probably Google around and find leads.

I have read Burkhardt, and his book has a lot to say about politics, religion and especially literature, but not so much about the visual arts. He also covers all of Italy. It is a great book though, and I would recommend it. Apparently he did intend to write another book especially about Italian Renaissance art but did not get around to it.

English writer John Ruskin wrote "The Stones of Venice" specifically about Venetian architecture, but I have not read it.

Ted makes a good point and I've edited my description of the Burckhardt book to reflect his point. He also identifies one of the best books about Venice and art, Ruskin's The Stones of Venice.I found the Burckhardt book particularly helpful to my understanding of things happening in Florence and other places in Italy in the 15th century, including the development of art in Florence, Venice, and Rome during the Early Renaissance. The most important thing I learned from Burckhardt was: If you want to understand the Renaissance, go to Florence, reflect on its past, and study the sculpture, painting and architecture that was produced there. And he also helped me to connect what was happening in art in Florence, Venice, and Rome during that period, including what arguably began (San Marco) and ended (Titian) in Venice.