Correggio

Estelle May HurllProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 105K words
Chapters: 11

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Correggio by Estelle M. HurllAuthor: Hurll, Estelle M. (Estelle May), 1863-1924,Language: English, Class: ND: Fine Arts: Painting, Release Date: Aug 29, 2006

Editor's review

This is an introductory book on the Italian Renaissance painter Correggio, written by the art critic Estelle M. Hurll for general readers. Rather than adopting a difficult academic format, the author organizes descriptions and evaluations around the painter's representative works, balancing biographical threads with pictorial analysis in clear language, making it suitable as an early step toward engaging with Renaissance painting. The book touches on Correggio's mastery of soft chiaroscuro, dynamic composition, and emotional expression, helping readers build a basic framework for viewing such works. As a public-domain e-book, it is more of an early popular guide from its era than a research monograph in today's sense, and some evaluations carry the author's personal tastes and period perspective. It is suitable for browsing before or after visiting an art museum, as supplementary material for general reading in Western art history, and for readers who want a lighter introduction to Correggio himself.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers new to Renaissance painting who need an introductory guide
Museum-goers who want to learn about Correggio's works in advance
Students of Western art history who need popular supplementary material
General enthusiasts who enjoy clear descriptive art criticism

Not a good fit for

Professional art historians who need the latest scholarly verification and depth in image research
Readers expecting high-resolution plates and a detailed catalogue of works
Readers sensitive to subjective evaluations in early popular works and who require neutral wording

Reading tips

Before reading, look up images of Correggio's representative works and read the corresponding chapters while viewing the paintings to form an intuitive impression.
Compare the book's evaluations with current mainstream art-historical views and note which judgments reflect period tastes.
Read in sections by work, and after each section summarize in your own words the pictorial features and the author's views.
Read alongside a general history of the Renaissance to fill in the historical background that the book treats briefly.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a scholarly monograph or an introductory work?

It is a popular art guide for general readers, focusing on descriptions of works and appreciation rather than rigorous scholarly argument. It is suitable for forming an initial impression and a viewing framework; for research, contemporary art-historical monographs and catalogues raisonnés are still needed.

Does the book include illustrations?

This is a public-domain electronic text that mainly provides textual content; the presence of plates depends on the specific electronic edition, and one generally cannot expect complete high-resolution illustrations. It is advisable to look up images of the works separately while reading, since textual descriptions alone make it difficult to form an accurate visual impression.

Can someone with no background in art history understand it?

Yes. The author's writing is mainly descriptive and explanatory, with few technical terms and a low threshold. If the Renaissance background is entirely unfamiliar, spending a little time first on the basic timeline and the relationships among major painters will make the book read more smoothly.

Comments

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About the author

Estelle May Hurll Author · American · 1863–1924

Estelle M. Hurll (1863–1924) was an American writer on art, born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. She graduated from Wellesley College, where she later taught ethics. She then turned to writing about art for a general readership, producing a series of accessible guides to appreciation that discussed artists such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Correggio, Reynolds and Jean-François Millet, and also treated Greek sculpture, child life in art and the Madonna in art. Thirteen of her works are held in this collection, mostly classed under inspirational and personal growth. Her plain, approachable style encourages readers to understand both the form and the feeling of works of art, and her books played a modest part in early twentieth-century American art education.