mural painting and decoration, italian

Deals with the works of the artist Giotto, contrasting the hieratic mood of his predecessors with his innovations. Shows the major cycles of his frescoes, including those at the Upper and Lower Church of San Francesco, Assisi, the Scrovegni family Arena Chapel in Padua, and St. Croce in Florence.

Photographs and illustrations profile the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Italy and show what the Basilica looked like before it was destroyed in an earthquake on September 26, 1997.

Documents the restoration of the Sistine Chapel, shown in its entirety, providing an intimate understanding of this masterpiece. Explains the various forensic studies carried out in the course of the project, the pragmatic concerns of the restoration, and the many problems of historical approach that were confronted.

Discusses Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes within the context of their site, cultural circumstances, production, narrative and compositional structure, style, and theological significance, and includes thirty-eight color plates of the Renaissance masterpiece.