The interpretation of paintings--especially of Old Masters--has occupied art historians for generations. Rarely, however, have they attempted to place the subject of their research in its
wider political and international context. So what can we learn, for example, about the state of 15th-century Europe by studying some of the great paintings of the time?
In this innovative work, Abolala Soudavar examines seven paintings by some of the great masters of the 15th century and demonstrates how we can better understand the state of international
relations and the political rivalries of the time by decoding the figures, their postures and gestures, the background scenes, the compositions and much else in these paintings. The result
offers some extraordinary solutions to long-standing puzzles, which illuminate both the paintings and our understanding of the period. By decoding these paintings, Soudavar has altered the
landscape of our understanding of 15th-century Art and opened the door to a kind of political and historical analysis of high culture which will affect how we study the history of art in
future generations.
