Synopses & Reviews
From its founding in 1648, the Acadand#233;mie royale de peinture et de sculpture and its successor, the and#201;cole nationale supand#233;rieure des beaux-arts in Paris, were devoted to the Greek model. Mythology and poetry, along with the study of sculpture, were the foundations of academic teaching there. As a result, Greek gods and heroes were reborn in innumerable works by pupils and teachers of the and#201;cole. This lavishly illustrated book explores the impact of the poet Homer on four centuries of French artists through the lens of the and#201;coleand#8217;s superb collections of paintings, prints, and sculptures.The and#201;cole was the most important venue for academic training of artists in Europe as well as for many nineteenth-century American artists who studied in Paris, including Thomas Eakins and John Singer Sargent. The and#201;coleand#8217;s collectionsand#151;which feature works by great artists who were first students and later instructors (Franand#231;ois LeMoine, Jacques-Louis David, and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres)and#151;were intended to enhance studentsand#8217; taste through study and emulation.With illuminating texts by prominent French scholars and a preface by George Steiner on the reception of Homer in France, The Legacy of Homer examines the historic and artistic importance of the works housed in the and#201;cole and pays homage to Homer, the great source that inspired them.
Review
". . . handsomely produced. . . . [A] wealth of material . . . an uncommon combination of artistic sensitivity and critical intelligence, erudition and vigor. . . . All students of Homer should find something of value in this visual tour of interpretations of the epics across those centuries."and#8212; Michael Lynn-George, New England Classical Journal
About the Author
Emmanuel Schwartz is curator at the and#201;cole Nationale Supand#233;rieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris. George Steiner, Fellow of Churchill College at Cambridge University, is the author of several books published by Yale University Press, including Grammars of Creation. Philippe Sand#233;nand#233;chal is professor of history at the University of Amiens.