Brilliant essays on Italian Renaissance artists by one of the most inspiring writers on the history and creation of art. In the three centuries from 1450 to 1750, painters, sculptors, and architects emerged from the medieval professional guilds of Italy, claiming a new social status as creators of their works, now called 'art', expressing elevated inspiration as well as manual craftsmanship. In 'The Illusions of Artists', Ingrid Rowland introduces us to the world of these artists and their seemingly miraculous ways of turning supernatural ideas into tangible artistic creations that challenged and redefined reality, 'illusions' with the power to reveal a deeper truth. Like the great art patron Daniele Barbaro who wrote: 'bisogna aprire gli occhi', or 'you must open your eyes.' And this is exactly what Rowland does in these essays, bringing her knowledge, keen perception, and unique irony to the art and lives of Renaissance masters such as Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Bernini, Raphael, Titian, and El Greco, as well as some overlooked artists with remarkable talent, such as Antonello da Messina, Andrea del Sarto, and Bertoldo di Giovanni. In stunning prose, brilliant and flexible like the pictorial effects it describes, she shows us the work of these artists in ways that open the eyes and provoke thought, recreating the joy and understanding that the discovery of great art brings.