Art of the Late Middle Ages

New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1968. Cloth, 264 pages, illustrations (some colour); 23 cm. Panorama of World Art Series. First published under title: Spates Mittelalter. Near fine. Firm binding, clean inside copy. Age toning. First U.S. Edition. Dust jacket, toned, protected in a mylar book cover. With 244 plates, including 141 in full colour; line drawings; maps; chronological tables. "The final stage of medieval artistic development, first styled 'Gothic' by contemptuous Renaissance critics who understood little of its motivation and cared even less, is a uniquely exciting period in the history of European art. Originating in the le-de-France in the mid-twelfth century, the new style soon spread throughout Europe, reaching as far as Scandinavia, Spain, and the Levant, and was not finally overtaken by the Renaissance until late in the sixteenth century. The medieval world was a Christian world and its artistic genius was devoted almost exclusively to religious themes. Stained glass and frescoes, panel paintings and illuminated manuscripts, tapestries and jeweled reliquaries, sculptured tombs, carved and painted altarpieces, [are] reproduced here in all their splendor. Dr. Hofst tter has an intuitive feeling for the spirit of the Gothic age; and this volume, with its unprecedented pictorial coverage, is the ideal introduction to an understanding of Late Medieval art." - Publisher.. 1st. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo. Collectible.