Bernard Berenson

Bernard Berenson
Bernard Berenson (1865–1959) was an American art historian and critic, renowned for his expertise in Italian Renaissance art. He gained prominence with his authoritative books, including "The Drawings of the Florentine Painters" and "The Italian Painters of the Renaissance," which became essential references in the field. Berenson's keen eye for attribution and connoisseurship helped establish the reputations of many Renaissance artists and shaped the art market in the early 20th century. He lived much of his life in Italy at his villa, I Tatti, which later became a research center for Renaissance studies.

Author's Books:


I. Florentine painting between Giotto and Michelangelo contains the names of such artists as Orcagna, Masaccio, Fra Filippo, Pollaiuolo, Verrocchio, Leonardo, and Botticelli. Put beside these the greatest names in Venetian art, the Vivarini, the Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, and Tintoret. The difference is striking. The significance of the Venetian names is exhausted with their significance as painters.... more...

THE VENETIAN PAINTERS OF THE RENAISSANCE I. Value of Venetian Art.—Among the Italian schools of painting the Venetian has, for the majority of art-loving people, the strongest and most enduring attraction. In the course of the present brief account of the life of that school we shall perhaps discover some of the causes of our peculiar delight and interest in the Venetian painters, as we come to... more...