The Dolphin History Of Painting - The Middel Ages

The Dolphin History of Painting – The Middle Ages (1969) by Pierre Francastel – Sold by Crappy Old Books

Step into a world of gilded saints, Byzantine mosaics, and suspiciously solemn Madonnas with The Dolphin History of Painting: The Middle Ages by Pierre Francastel. First published in 1969 by Thames and Hudson, this visually rich and intellectually ambitious volume explores how painting evolved during one of history’s least relaxing time periods.

Francastel, a French art historian with more than a passing interest in things divine and obscure, takes you on a sweeping tour from the fall of Rome to the cusp of the Renaissance—pausing to admire illuminated manuscripts, Gothic frescoes, and the occasional tormented martyr. Expect theory, theology, and a whole lot of gold leaf.

Condition: Slightly musty, with the odd coffee ring of scholarly character. Spine creased like a monk’s brow; still packed with medieval magic.

Crappy Old Books – Because some masterpieces just need a little dusting.

175 full colour plates.

This book has been repaired in the past. Whilst the main spinr is in good condition, it appears that the very first page, which had little on it, and before the main title pages, must have fallen out and someone has celloptaped it back in on one side and used an assortment of stickly address labels on the other side to complete the job. It works, but the first page is still out from the main page block by 1mm or so and looks bad. As an archival repair I would grade it an F, but as a functional repair a B-.

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