{"product_id":"born-under-saturn-isbn-9781590172131","title":"Born Under Saturn","description":"\u003ci\u003eA rare art history classic that The New York Times calls a “delightful, scholarly and gossipy romp through the character and conduct of artists from antiquity to the French Revolution.”\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBorn Under Saturn\u003c\/i\u003e is a classic work of scholarship written with a light and winning touch. Margot and Rudolf Wittkower explore the history of the familiar idea that artistic inspiration is a form of madness, a madness directly expressed in artists’ unhappy and eccentric lives. This idea of the alienated artist, the Wittkowers demonstrate, comes into its own in the Renaissance, as part of the new bid by visual artists to distinguish themselves from craftsmen, with whom they were then lumped together. Where the skilled artisan had worked under the sign of light-fingered Mercury, the ambitious artist identified himself with the mysterious and brooding Saturn. Alienation, in effect, was a rung by which artists sought to climb the social ladder.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs to the reputed madness of artists—well, some have been as mad as hatters, some as tough-minded as the shrewdest businessmen, and many others wildly and willfully eccentric but hardly crazy. What is certain is that no book presents such a splendid compendium of information about artists’ lives, from the early Renaissance to the beginning of the Romantic era, as \u003ci\u003eBorn Under Satur\u003c\/i\u003en. The Wittkowers have read everything and have countless anecdotes to relate: about artists famous and infamous; about suicide, celibacy, wantonness, weird hobbies, and whatnot. These make \u003ci\u003eBorn Under Saturn\u003c\/i\u003e a comprehensive, quirky, and endlessly diverting resource for students of history and lovers of the arts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“This book is fascinating to read because of the abundant quotations which bring to life so many remarkable \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e individuals.”–\u003c\/i\u003eThe New York Review of Books\"The Wittkowers' entertaining and micro-informed study dissects the pervasive image of the moody, alienated artist. Cautious and provocative, presuming to balance theory and anecdote by happily indulging the latter, \u003ci\u003eBorn Under Saturn\u003c\/i\u003e reads like Vasari's \u003ci\u003eLives of the Artists\u003c\/i\u003e rewritten as an appendix to Burton--a colorful tour of eccentricity and genius, populated by all manner of rogues, gentlemen, pennypinchers, hypochondriacs, and enduring masters. Every page has a diverting tale, and the cumulative effect sets the reader's mind reeling.\" --\u003ci\u003eModern Painters\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[The authors] have had a wonderful time and so should the reader…Their feat is impressive enough as it stands in this giant popcorn-ball of a book, where surely all the anecdotes and existing documents about artists over a period of some 2,000 years have been stuck together with the syrup of scholarship…into a mass at once unusual, tasty and nourishing...\u003ci\u003eBorn Under Saturn\u003c\/i\u003e is good reading…”–John Canaday, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Artists are just like people, only more so is the implied conclusion of this delightful, scholarly and gossipy romp through the character and conduct of artists from antiquity to the French Revolution.”–\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times \u003c\/i\u003e(Review of Notable Books of the Year, 1963)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The Wittkowers…have filled this authoritative contribution to the understanding of creative man with dozens of good stories about great artists and freaks, fools and men of destiny…The blatant, the incomparable, the boorish, the bland and the bizarre pass under review here in an enormously interesting parade.”–Charles Poore, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[F]ascinating to read because of the abundant quotations which bring to life so many remarkable individuals”–\u003ci\u003eThe New York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eRUDOLF WITTKOWER\u003c\/b\u003e (1901-1971) was a German-American art historian. He was on the staff of the Warburg Institute, London, and became professor at the University of London.  He then headed the Department of Fine Arts and Archaeology at Columbia. His highly original works in English include \u003ci\u003eArchitectural Principles in the Age of Humanism\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eArt and Architecture in Italy, 1600—1750, \u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eEssays in the History of Architecture\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEssays in the History of Art\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eBaroque Art: The Jesuit Contribution\u003c\/i\u003e.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMARGOT WITTKOWER \u003c\/b\u003e(1902-1995)\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003ewas born in Berlin and established herself as an interior designer.  After moving to London with her husband, she became an expert on neo-Palladian architecture.  She collaborated on a number of books with her husband, including \u003ci\u003eBorn Under Saturn\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Divine Michelangelo.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJOSEPH CONNORS\u003c\/b\u003e is past Director of the American Academy in Rome, and currently is Professor of Art History, Columbia University.","brand":"NYRB Classics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302596333797,"sku":"NP9781590172131","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781590172131.jpg?v=1767722969","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/born-under-saturn-isbn-9781590172131","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}