Loel Zwecker on: Pietro Aretino - the first art critic of the Western world. His name is not widely known today, yet at the time he communicated on equal terms with art stars like Michelangelo as well as with princes, popes, and emperors: Pietro Aretino (1492-1556) was the public voice of the Renaissance. Whether commenting on a papal election or the paintings of the great Venetian Titian, Aretino always expressed himself in an original and opinionated manner. He wielded words so incisively that he was recognized throughout Europe as the "Condottiere of the Pen." A significant part of his diverse literary work consisted of letters that Aretino published. Through the stylish first translation of numerous passages into German, art historian Loel Zwecker reintroduces Aretino to contemporary readers. His groundbreaking blend of sub.