Synopses & Reviews
This book accompanies the opening of the VandAandrsquo;s newly redesigned Europe gallery, which features spectacular paintings, sculpture, furniture, and decorative artsandmdash;textiles, fashion, ceramics, glass, metalwork, prints, and booksandmdash;created by Europeandrsquo;s finest artists and craftsmen of the 17th and 18th centuries for the periodandrsquo;s most important tastemakers, among them Louis XIV, Marie Antoinette, and Catherine the Great. Outstanding art and domestic objects are discussed within their original contexts to highlight the rhythms and rituals of life during this period. Lavishly illustrated, the book includes essays explaining the grandeur of court interiorsandmdash;for which the larger and more elaborate art objects were madeandmdash;as well as discussion of more-humble period rooms and intimate interiors.
Review
"Thoughtful and persuasive. I like the thematic organization."--Richard Wrigley, Brookes University
Synopsis
In an era of unprecedented change--rapid urbanization, economic growth, and political revolution--European artists from 1700-1830 were in the business of finding new ways of making, selling, and talking about art. Matthew Craske creates a totally new and vivid record of eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century art in Europe, taking a critical view of such conventional categories as the "rococo," the "neo-classical," and the "romantic." He goes on to explore crucial thematic issues, such as changes in "taste" and manners, and the impact of enlightenment notions of progress, and at the same time goes well beyond the usual geographic limits of surveys to include St. Petersburg, Copenhagen, Warsaw, and Madrid. The result is a refreshingly holistic text which sets the art of the period firmly in its social history.
Synopsis
In an era of unprecedented change--rapid urbanization, economic growth, and political revolution--European artists from 1700-1830 were in the business of finding new ways of making, selling, and talking about art. Matthew Craske creates a totally new and vivid record of eighteenth- and early
nineteenth-century art in Europe, taking a critical view of such conventional categories as the "rococo," the "neo-classical," and the "romantic." He goes on to explore crucial thematic issues, such as changes in "taste" and manners, and the impact of enlightenment notions of progress, and at the
same time goes well beyond the usual geographic limits of surveys to include St. Petersburg, Copenhagen, Warsaw, and Madrid. The result is a refreshingly holistic text which sets the art of the period firmly in its social history.
About the Author
Elizabeth Miller is senior curator of prints and Hilary Young is senior curator of ceramics at the VandA.