Regarded as artisans and craftsmen in the early 15th century, painters and sculptors acquired new status as "artists" within little more than a hundred years. Francis Ames-Lewis explores how Mantegna, da Vinci, Raphael, Durer and others gained intellectual respect and artistic autonomy from enlightened patrons by promoting the idea of the artist as a creative genius with a distinct identity and individuality.

Author Biography

Francis Ames-Lewis is professor of history of Renaissance art at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of Drawing in Early Renaissance Italy (0 300 07981 8, [pound]18.95*), available in paperback from Yale University Press.