"While many readers are familiar with the Italian Renaissance, and particularly with the fundamental work of Leonardo da Vinci, this book delves into the Renaissance as it took shape in France. The author details the history of- and play on- perspective as it came to affect works of architecture, sculptures, paintings, maps, stained- glass windows, and literature in France. The exploration of perspective through trompe- l'oeil revolutionized knowledge itself, as the author so aptly describes as she weaves together the intellectual developments that were happening in the world, and in France, at this time. With the rediscovery of ancient texts on mathematics, ways of seeing became vivified and renewed in the years between 1470 and 1600. Here, the author details the historic invitation to explore further the absolute certitude or givenness of man's position in the world. For a wonderful exploration of the way that distance, angles, proportion, light, and the viewer's position play on our very notion of space, this book is an excellent guide to the advances that were made during the French Renaissance. These advances in our ways of seeing can still be visited in modern- day France, if not in person then in the wonderful selection of photos and images that the author provides for readers to study." - Domenica Newell-Amato, Editor, Content Editing Lab, LLC
