Classic Art: An Introduction to the Italian Renaissance

Classic Art: An Introduction to the Italian Renaissance by Heinrich Wölfflin offers a pioneering formal analysis of Renaissance art, tracing its evolution from the early innovations of artists like Brunelleschi and Masaccio to the High Renaissance mastery of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. First published in 1899, the book employs Wölfflin’s method of contrasting stylistic principles—such as linear versus painterly, plane versus recession, and closed versus open form—to distinguish the classic clarity and balance of Italian Renaissance art from the more dynamic Baroque that followed. Illustrated with numerous works, it remains a foundational text for understanding the period’s emphasis on harmony, proportion, and humanism in painting, sculpture, and architecture.