Synopses & Reviews
From the smallest piece of gold jewelry to colossal statues of kings, Egypt’s treasures have inspired the work of painters, sculptors, decorative artists, interior designers, and architects throughout the Western world. In
Egyptomania: Egypt in Western Art, 1730-1930, the arrangement of a dazzling assortment of masterworks by western artists side by side with artifacts from ancient Egypt celebrates our perennial fascination with all things Egyptian.
This volume traces waves of Egyptian influence which swept Europe and North America from the first modern use of Egyptian themes in a painting by Poussin in 1647 to Baccarat perfume bottles shaped like Ramses inspired by the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. Egyptian imagery is presented in a spectacular collection of artwork spanning the Baroque to Art Deco, from ceramics by Wedgwood to jewelry by Cartier, murals by Piranesi, architectural designs by Zix , paintings by Tiepolo, furniture by Hope, and many more.
In all, 350 objects are rendered beautifully in 206 color and 630 black and white illustrations. They come from international museums, private lenders such as the House of Cartier, and collections from the Fontainebleau, Versailles, Malmaison, and Buckingham Palace.
In-depth essays by leading art historians from Paris, Vienna, and Ottawa give detailed histories of each object and artist. An extensive introduction by the editors provides a comprehensive overview of Egyptomania— the artistic legacy of cultural revivals which began in the days of the Roman Empire. Their analysis shows how Egyptomania has been spurred by military conquests, scientific developments, archaeological findings, museum exhibitions, and other events which periodically rekindle our obsession with the beauties, mysteries, and images of ancient Egypt.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 583-600) land index.
Table of Contents
Foreword 13
From One Egyptomania to Another: The Legacy of Roman Antiquity 15
Christiane Ziegler
Egyptomania: A Current Concept from the Renaissance to Postmodernism 21
Jean-Marcel Humbert
Note to the Reader 27
Preamble 28
Michael Pantazzi
1: Italy and the Grand Tour 36
2: Absolutism and Enlightenment 116
3: From Wedgwood to Thomas Hope 168
4: Denon and the Discovery of Egypt 200
5: The Return from Egypt 250
6: The Development of Parallel Readings: 1815-1869 310
7: Egypt at the Opera 390
8: Confirmations of Permanence: 1869-1910 448
9: Tutankhamun and Art Deco 506
10: Cleopatra or the Seductions of the East 552
Bibliography 583
Exhibitions 597
Index of Persons 601