ARTISTIC LETTERING AND THE PROGRESS OF THE ANTIQUE REVIVAL IN THE QUATTROCENTO (SCULPTURE, RENAISSANCE ART)

This dissertation is about the changes that occurred in artistic lettering during the early Renaissance in Italy between c. 1410 and 1500. During this time, the Gothic style of lettering was replaced by Sanserif lettering first and, later, after the mid-fifteenth century, by lettering based upon antique Roman epigraphs.;The dissertation begins, after the introduction (Chapter One), with a survey of the epigraphy during the ancient Roman and Medieval periods (Chapters Two and Three); this background provides a basis for later discussions on the sources for epigraphical styles of the Renaissance. Chapter Four, an introduction to the Renaissance inscription, offers observations on the appearance, arrangement, and application of epigraphy to works of art during the fifteenth century. The technique of carving Renaissance inscriptions is discussed as well.;The remainder of the dissertation describes lettering in Quattrocento works of art and designed lettering. Part III deals with the Sanserif lettering style prevelent in the first half of the '400: Chapter Five is on the lettering of Ghiberti and his followers, Chapter Six is about the inscriptions of Donatello and his school. Chapter Seven is a summary of Sanserif Lettering in the early '400. In Part IV of the dissertation, I describe the beginning of Roman epigraphical lettering in the Renaissance: Chapter Eight is on the contribution of Donatello and Mantegna to this development while Chapter Nine is on the constructed Roman alphabets of Felice Feliciano, Mantegna, Alberti, Damianus Moille, Hartman Schedel, Fra Giocondo, and Fra Luca Pacioli. Chapter Ten is a summary of the material on Roman lettering presented in Part IV. Part V, Chapter Eleven concludes the dissertation.;The study of inscriptions in Italian Renaissance art is a new one; there are few studies in which the Renaissance epigraph has been described and analyzed as a component of artistic style. An inscription's lettering style can provide valuable information pertaining to the artist's sources, his early influences, and important contacts with other artists or styles. Not only is the style of the lettering potentially significant, but the arrangement of the inscription and the form of the epigraph within the sculptural ensemble can be meaningful as well.