Distinguished Images: Prints and the Visual Economy in Nineteenth-Century France

This multifaceted book reviews the vast range of types of printmaking that flourished in France during the 19th century. Studies of this periodandrsquo;s printmaking tend to be confined to histories of individual processes, such as lithography or steel engraving. This study surveys the field as a whole and discusses the relationships between the various media in the context of an overall andldquo;visual economy.andrdquo;

Lithography, etching, and engraving are all examined through new research on noteworthy artists of the period, including Hyacinthe Aubry-Lecomte, Landeacute;opold Flameng, Ferdinand Gaillard, Aimandeacute; de Lemud, Nadar, and Charles Waltner. Rather than simply tracing the rise of Modernism in the 19th century, Distinguished Images reconstitutes the periodandrsquo;s cultural milieu through a series of case studies written with an eye to overarching forces at play. The result is the most original analysis of printmaking to appear in many yearsandmdash;a striking new account of a system in which printmaking, printmakers, and art critics played heretofore unrecognized or misunderstood roles.

andnbsp;

This elegant book offers a striking new panorama of the forces at work behind French 19th-century visual culture.

Stephen Bann is emeritus professor and senior research fellow, Bristol University, United Kingdom.