Guide to Italian art in the 1300s

Reviewed by Rosina Catalan, Adjunct Professor, Butler University on 1/5/26

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This guide is very comprehensive - granted the scope, Italy in the 1300s, is narrow. The author sets sound contexts with an introduction to Gothic/Medieval art and a good background of social and historical events of Italy in the 1300s. The material is presented in an easy-to-follow format and covers art from Florence, Siena, Pisa, Pistoia, and Rome. The featured art examples are images that students will be able to recognize easily after reading this text and use as reference in future studies of the Italian Renaissance.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

This guide covers all of the important art from the early 1300s Italy and does it well. It concentrates on art in the first half of the fourteenth century and lacks attention to art in the second half of the same century.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This textbook comprehensively introduces readers to the art historical transition from icon to painting and because of this will remain relevant. There are a few website links that could need updated in the future.

Clarity rating: 5

The clarity is excellent. The prose is well-written in a style that is easily understood by all levels of students. Technical terms are defined in context.

Consistency rating: 4

The general outline and framework of the text is sound. The terminology remains consistent throughout the book and chapters follow the same format. The content, even though it is written by different authors, remains cohesive.

Modularity rating: 4

The topics of this text could have been segmented into subheadings with more visuals of the topics. The book itself covers a specific and narrow geographical and chronological time frame. I will use this book as part of a larger survey course - therefore this book is in itself a module.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The topics are presented in a clear, logical fashion. The topics are mainly organized by topic with subheadings. There is a table of contents but no glossary. For students unfamiliar with the terminology of the Italian Renaissance or geography of Italy, a glossary would be helpful.

Interface rating: 4

The images are clear and display features are straightforward. This guide is easily navigable and generally free from interface issues. Some sections are a script of a dialogue between art historians. The content is accurate, but the conversation-style format could distract students from the content.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

This guide is extremely well-edited and free from errors. The prose is excellent and easily understood.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The scope of this text is quite narrow in regards to geography and time frame. It does a great job setting a context coming out of Gothic/Medieval art but its subject matter is naturally specific. Adding influences from other cultures or more examples currently held in museums outside of Italy would be ways to include a variety of ethnicities and backgrounds to this textbook.

This book is part of a series of books on art history by Smarhistory. I highly recommend this and other Smarthistory titles that make art history topics accessible.

Reviewed by Brooke Doherty, Adjunct Professor of Art, Roxbury Community College on 5/30/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book contains a comprehensive overview of all of the major art-producing centers in Italy along with important artists, artworks, and social/historical events of the 1300s. It also opens with an introduction to Gothic and previous medieval styles and themes so students will be grounded and prepared to learn more.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The authors consider multiple viewpoints and a broad range of scholarship.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Website links included in some sections may require future updates, but this looks like it will be easy to update.

Clarity rating: 5

It is written in direct but interesting language that is easy for a student to understand.

Consistency rating: 5

Most chapters and sections follow the same format and design.

Modularity rating: 4

This book is already a module of a larger class, and it is divided into sections that are easily assignable. That said, there are some longer sections without subheadings that could have been broken up with images and other visual design strategies.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The structure is logical and easy to follow from the table of contents.

Interface rating: 5

I didn't encounter any interface issues as I perused the book.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The writing is excellent and well-edited.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Given the tight framework of Italian art of the 13th century, there's not a lot of room for multicultural discussion. That said, authors do include a discussion of gender and in their larger work (beyond this textbook) try to be as inclusive as possible.

This book is comprehensive and presents material in an easy to follow and interesting way with a lot of great images and close-ups. It contains all of the important material you would want on the subject, such as background information on the cultural and historical events of 1300s Italy. Much of this book is separate transcripts of videos the authors have made and published on YouTube and their companion Smarthistory site. If you absolutely have to assign a book or print source, then this is a reasonable way to do it. That said, they have a much better OER textbook "Reframing Art History" (https://smarthistory.org/reframing-art-history/) not listed in the Open Textbook Library that contains a lot more information and links to videos and alternative formats that students will find engaging, and I would prefer to use this site for class content rather than a book with mostly transcripts of the videos.

Reviewed by Tammy Cotton-Jennings, Lecturer/Art, Leeward Community College on 3/1/22, updated 3/2/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

For a summary of late Gothic art through the art of the 14th century, in Italy, this book offers a comprehensive review. However, there is no glossary which would be particularly helpful, but the terms are well-defined within the text.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is accurate, well researched, and written by a wide range of scholars respected in the field of art history. I found no errors while reviewing this text. However, the text would be enhanced by the addition of a guide to the general characteristics of Gothic Art.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

I don't feel that this text would become obsolete in terms of the content. However, as a text specific to Italian art in the 1300s, I find it unusual in that it only covers art up to 1348. One obvious omission was any mention of Cennino Cennini. Though he is not significant as an artist his treatise, Il Libro dell'Arte, (late 1390s) was extremely influential to painters not only of his own time but also well into the Renaissance.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is well written and user-friendly; however, it is lacking some introductory information that would be helpful. As noted before, it would benefit from a guide to the common characteristics of Gothic Art, a glossary, and a list of video titles.

Consistency rating: 5

The essays, though written by different scholars, flow well and are interesting to read, and the terminology is consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

Each essay or conversation would be able to stand alone for any module or assigned reading. It would be very easy for any instructor to pick and choose areas of interest.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

As mentioned earlier, I was surprised by the lack of glossary, and an introduction to the different and predominant characteristics, styles, and themes. The book flows well but I found some topics to be redundant and repetitive. I also felt that the conversation format is not the best mode of delivery. The conversations by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker are better suited to the videos that they do so well.

Interface rating: 4

The interface is ok. The importance of a glossary and of a list of videos cannot be stressed enough.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I found no grammatical errors in my reading of the text. The writing is succinct, fluid and well written.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

Although the text is not offensive as far as I can see, there are many places where the inclusion of a variety of races could be added, including the relevance of West African cultures and their influence on Late Gothic Europe.

For educators and students particularly interested in an introduction to the art of the 1300s, in Italy, this text certainly does the job.