RENAISSANCE SELF-PORTRAITURE: THE VISUAL CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY AND THESOCIAL STATUS OF THE ARTIST by Joanna Woods-MarsdenReview by: Lee RobinsonArt Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, Vol. 18, No. 2(Fall 1999), p. 58Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Art Libraries Society of NorthAmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27949044 .

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niture, silversmithing and jewelry, calligraphy, stone carving, and

stained glass by placing them in historical context and highlight ing the key practitioners. Rounding out part one, Harrod examines

the socio-political forces related to the world of crafts as well as the effects of World War II in the craft arena.

Part two encompasses the period from 1945 to 1969. The in fluences of various government agencies and other associations,

such as the Crafts Centre of Great Britain, the Arts and Crafts Ex hibition Society, the Crafters Potters Association, and the Council on Industrial Design are discussed. The evolution of craft educa

tion and educational theories is explored, as is the development of workshops and art schools. New possibilities and new defini

tions of crafts are examined, including ceramics, silversmithing and jewelry, textiles, bookbinding, calligraphy and lettering, glass, and furniture. Finally, three fascinating case studies provide an

overview of key craft events at mid century. The first is an exam

ination of the artist / craft community of St. Ives and the second case is a discussion of the importance of "The Festival of Britain" held in 1951 at the South Bank. The last case study is the story of the

Coventry Cathedral, a tour-de-force of craftpersons and architects

working together. Harrod's extensive research is documented in the notes sec

tion, numbering over twenty pages, in which she cites primary source material, exhibition catalogues, monographs, journal arti

cles, conference proceedings and personal interviews. A plethora of illustrations is provided with over 200 in color and over 250 in black and white. Overall, the illustrations are high-quality with just a few lacking in sharpness. A fine index provides access to the wealth of material found within. The Crafts in Britain in the Twentieth

Century is highly recommended for any library dealing with crafts, the decorative arts and design or the art history of Britain.

Kari E. Horowicz

Rochester Institute of Technology

Self Reflection

RENAISSANCE SELF-PORTRAITURE: THE VISUAL CON STRUCTION OF IDENTITY AND THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE ARTIST / Joanna Woods-Marsden.?New Haven, CT: Yale

University Press, 1998.?295 p.: ill.?ISBN 0-300-07596-0 (cl., alk.

paper): $60.00. In this handsome tome, Joanna Woods-Marsden explores the

development of autonomous self-portraiture in the fifteenth and

sixteenth centuries in Italy, showing how this genre was developed

by artists wishing to improve their personal position and social sta

tus. Working predominantly in the courts, whether in Milan, Man

tua, Ferrara, Rome, Florence, or for the Hapsburg dynasty, these

artists found themselves in a culture that encouraged and stimu

lated aspirations for greater recognition and prestige. Because the

genre was new and because these portraits were painted by the artists for personal reasons, not for commission, there were few

artists in these fortunate circumstances; consequently, the oeuvre is

relatively small. For her purposes, Woods-Marsden has defined as

an autonomous self-portrait those paintings, medals or portrait busts that present a single portrait head, although there are a few

exceptions that show two or three heads, or a figure in half or full

length view. She has excluded drawings, as well as self-portraiture contained within religious narratives, since this form of self-im

agery was more widespread and deserves a separate study.

Woods-Marsden discusses nearly twenty-five well known

artists, including Alberti, Filarete, Mantegna, Bramante, Bandinel

li, Vasari, Cellini, Raphael, Leoni, Zuccari, and Titian. Many re

ceive their own small individual chapters in which Woods-Marsden

examines specific images as well as the artist's personal and social circumstances. Woven into this discussion are the larger questions of Renaissance ideology and practice. The author covers such cen

tral themes as the critical difference between the mechanical and liberal arts and the ramifications for painters and sculptors who

were classified in the former category. Trying to bridge the chasm between their association with manual labor and the intellectual

ism of the liberal arts, the author discusses the ways in which these artists used their art to demonstrate their creativity and change the

perception that painting and sculpture only belonged to the realm of the craftsman.

For this reviewer, one of the most interesting parts of the book is that devoted to two women painters, Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana. This section is particularly iUummating, since in

the Renaissance "It was unthinkable for a female to become an

artist..." In this cultural and historical framework, the reader learns

how Anguissola became one of the best-known cinquecento artists,

if not the most famous court artist of her time. Her career, orches

trated by her father, was constricted by the social conventions and restrictions of the day. For example, propriety dictated that An

guissola, an unwed female, not be alone in a room with a male while

painting his portrait. Thus, she turned to domestic scenes for sub

ject matter, thereby creating works that differed in scope from those of her male contemporaries.

Also noteworthy are the biographical and personal details of the lives of these Renaissance men and women. One of the strengths of Renaissance Self-Portraiture is that it rejects a sanitized, idealized

interpretation of the period in favor of a realistic portrayal. This cer

tainly is the case when Woods-Marsden interprets a medal by Leone Leoni. In the medal, Leoni, who had a long history of criminality, chose to depict his sentence as a galley slave in the papal fleet. Other

personal details, less shocking but equally fascinating, give the read er insight into the type of personality and finesse that was required for success in court.

Although many of the portraits may have been discussed in

dividually in other books on the Renaissance, Woods-Marsden has

made a unique contribution through this work. She has gathered them together and presented them as a group, discussing them in

dividually and in relation to each other. The author compares por trait elements, including dress, the subject/viewer relationship,

attributes, activity of the depicted artist, and creative innovations.

Written for the scholar and student of the Italian Renaissance,

this book is an essential addition to a research collection, but will also be of interest outside the academic community. Presented in a schol

arly but accessible style, it contains over 164 illustrations, many in color and full-page. The book is extremely attractive and given the wide appeal of the Renaissance, this monograph will be an appre ciated addition to any art collection.

Lee Robinson The New York Public Library

58 Art Documentation ? Volume 18, Number 2 ? 1999

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