THE ITALIAN PAINTERS OF THE RENAISSANCE - Bernard Berenson

Published by THE PHAIDON PRESS, 1953,  hardcover, 488 pages, index, illustrated, 19.5 cms x 27.3 cms x 3.7 cms, condition: very good.

Bernard Berenson (1865 1959) was a art historian specializing in the Renaissance. His book The Drawings of the Florentine Painters was an international successBerenson was a major figure in the attribution of Old Masters, at a time when these were attracting new interest by American collectors, and his judgments were widely respected in the art world.

Among US collectors of the early 1900s, Berenson was regarded as the pre-eminent authority on Renaissance art. While his approach remained controversial among European art historians and connoisseurs, he played a pivotal role as an advisor to several important American art collectors, such as Isabella Stewart Gardner, who needed help in navigating the complex and treacherous market of newly fashionable Renaissance art. Berenson's expertise eventually became so well regarded that his verdict of authorship could either increase or decrease a painting's value dramatically. In this respect Berenson's influence was enormous.