Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages

New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1986. x, 131 pages; 22 cm. First published, 1959, under title: Sviluppo dell'estetica medievale, a single chapter of a four volume handbook on the history of aesthetics, written by various authors. Translated from the Italian. Tight, clean copy. An excellent, erudite book. "In this authoritative, lively book, the celebrated Italian novelist and philosopher Umberto Eco presents a learned summary of medieval aesthetic ideas. Juxtaposing theology and science, poetry and mysticism, Eco explores the relationship that existed between the aesthetic theories and the artistic experience and practice of medieval culture. / Umberto Eco is the author of many books, including The Name of the Rose, Foucault's Pendulum, Experiences in Translation, and The Island of the Day Before." - Publisher. CONTENTS: The medieval aesthetic sensibility; Transcendental beauty; The aesthetics of proportion; The aesthetics of light; Symbol and allegory; Aesthetic perception; The aesthetics of the organism; Development and decline of the aesthetics of the organism; Theories of art; Inspiration and the status of art; Conclusion.. 1st. Paperback. Fine. 8vo.