The Last Days of the Renaissance and the March to Modernity (review)
1956 involved 320 correspondents, a veritable Who’s Who of academics plus others who were inspired by his writings. Panofsky, who referred to himself as an “aged turtle,” wrote approvingly of young up-and-coming scholars, notably Irving Lavin, Colin Eisler, and Jan Białostocki. Several letters pertain to the origins of The Renaissance Society of America. I look forward to the final two tomes covering the last twelve years of his life. I never thought “mere” letters would make for such addictive reading regardless of one’s personal response to Panofsky the man and the scholar. JEFFREY CHIPPS SMITH University of Texas at Austin