The object as subject : studies in the interpretation of still life /

The essays in this volume examine, perceptively and persuasively, how still-life representations spanning 400 years (1560-1960) express the values of their respective societies and individual artists. Demonstrating how material culture studies can be applied to explore why such pictures were made, these essays interpret the portrayal of objects selected and arranged by the painter or photographer with calculated deliberation. The various contexts that contributed to the making and reception of these paintings and photographs include artistic convention and its deviation, iconography, patronage, religion, economic developments, technique, and sexuality. A pervasive concern in all essays is the issue of how artists adjusted real or invented objects to fit their pictorial goals. The distinguished authors and their topics are Falkenburg on Aertsen, Lowenthal on Kalf, Ballerini on Bayard and Daguerre, Bolger on Harnett and Peto, Ten Doesschate Chu on Van Gogh, and Freeman on Wesselman. The works discussed are by artists found in general introductory surveys, and the ideas relate to word/image and culture studies; consequently, this book has much to offer. General; undergraduate; graduate; researcher. A. Golahny Lycoming College