Synopses & Reviews
Jan Gossart (ca. 1478and#8211;1532) was among the first Netherlandish artists to travel to Rome to make drawings after antique monuments and sculpture and then, upon his return, to introduce biblical and mythological subjects with erotic nude figures into the mainstream of Northern painting. Often credited with successfully assimilating Italian Renaissance style into the art of 16th-century northern Europe, Gossart is the pivotal old master who redirected the course of early Netherlandish art from the legacy of its founder, Jan van Eyck, toward a new style that would eventually lead to the great age of Peter Paul Rubens.
Man, Myth, and Sensual Pleasures offers a much-needed comprehensive reappraisal of the artistand#8217;s accomplishmentand#8212;the first in 45 years. It is not only an exhibition catalogue but also a study of the artistand#8217;s complete oeuvre as a painter, draftsman, and printmaker. The majority of the paintings in this volume have for the first time undergone rigorous technical examination. As a result, many problems relating to attributions, dating, versions, and copies have been clarified, and a fuller understanding has been obtained of the artistand#8217;s working procedures. The text draws on these unprecedented technical investigations as well as on recent original scholarship concerning many issues not adequately examined in the past, such as Gossartand#8217;s early career as a proponent of Antwerp Mannerism and the patronage of Philip of Burgundy (including a closer look at the erotic nature of court art).
Review
and#8220;This is a landmark book of the highest scholarship, which will stand as the authoritative source on the artist for years to come. It has set the bar very high indeed for future scholarship, which one can only hope this sterling contribution will motivate.and#8221; and#8212;CAA Reviews
Review
". . . extensive and beautifully illustrated . . . Essential."and#8212;A.L. Palmer, Choice
Review
Selected as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2011 in the Fine Arts category
Review
Winner of the 2012 Alfred H. Barr Jr. Award, as given by the College Art Association Choice Outstanding Academic Title: Fine Arts - Choice
Review
Winner of the 2012 Alfred H. Barr Jr. Award, asand#160;given by the College Art Association
Synopsis
Jan Gossart (ca. 1472-1532) has long been recognized for his pivotal role in disseminating and transforming the art of antiquity and the Italian Renaissance style in the North. This catalogue raisonné of the Netherlandish painter, draftsman, and printmaker is the first major publication on the artist in more than forty years. His achievement is reevaluated here in light of the many discoveries revealed by recent scholarship and new technical examination of the paintings. Among the topics discussed are the impact of Gossarts trip to Rome; the influence of his patron Philip of Burgundy; his simultaneous work in Gothic and new antique modes; the attribution of all his extant drawings, including a number of newly found sheets; the first serious consideration of his prints; and the evolution of his working methods and painting techniques.
Synopsis
This sumptuous catalogue provides an overview of French art circa 1500, a dynamic, transitional period when the country, resurgent after the dislocations of the Hundred Years' War, invaded Italy and all media flourished. What followed was the emergence of a unique art: the fusion of the Italian Renaissance with northern European Gothic styles. Outstanding examples of exquisite and revolutionary works are featured, including paintings, sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, stained glass, tapestries, and metalwork. Exciting new research brings to life court artists Jean Fouquet, Jean Bourdichon, Michel Colombe, Jean Poyer, and Jean Hey (The Master of Moulins), all of whose creations were used by kings and queens to assert power and prestige. Also detailed are the organization of workshops and the development of the influential art market in Paris and patronage in the Loire Valley.
About the Author
Martha Wolff is Eleanor Wood Prince Curator of European Painting before 1750 at the Art Institute of Chicago. Geniviève Bresc-Bautier is Director of the Department of Sculpture, Musée du Louvre. Thierry Crépin-Leblond is Director of the Musée national de la Renaissance, Château d'Ecouen. Elisabeth Taburet-Delahaye is Director of the Musée de ClunyMusée National du Moyen Âge, Paris.