"This book is about the great age of European portrait-painting, from its genesis in the late Middle Ages to the genre's greatest achievements in the Renaissance and Baroque. Norbert Schneider interprets a wide range of major works, thereby contributing to our understanding of portraiture as a whole. Drawing on his knowledge of the background against which the artists lived and worked, the author provides access to paintings whose meanings might otherwise remain obscure. In so doing, Schneider offers a useful insight into the social, cultural and political functions of the portrait."--Jacket
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