Book description
Pioneering art historian Jacob Burckhardt saw the Italian Renaissance
as no less than the beginning of the modern world. In this hugely
influential work he argues that the Renaissance's creativity,
competitiveness, dynasties, great city-states and even its vicious
rulers sowed the seeds of a new era. GREAT IDEAS. Throughout history,
some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see
ourselves ? and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and
revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted.
They have enriched lives ? and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you
the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries
whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are. Jacob
Burckhardt (1818-1897) intended to join the Church, but lost his faith
while studying theology. Thereafter he studied history at the University
of Basel, gaining his doctorate in 1843 and becoming a lecturer. He
moved to the Zurich Polytechnic as Professor of Architecture and History
in 1855, which is where he wrote The Civilization of the Renaissance in
Italy. In 1858 he returned to Basel, where he lived for his work as a
teacher at the University.
