Origins, Imitation, Conventions
Origins, Imitation, Conventions

Author: James S. Ackerman

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2002-03-29

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9780262011860

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Twelve studies by eminent art historian James S. Ackerman. This collection contains studies written by art historian James Ackerman over the past decade. Whereas Ackerman's earlier work assumed a development of the arts as they responded to social, economic, political, and cultural change, his recent work reflects the poststructural critique of the presumption of progress that characterized Renaissance and modernist history and criticism. In this book he explores the tension between the authority of the past—which may act not only as a restraint but as a challenge and stimulus—and the potentially liberating gift of invention. He examines the ways in which artists and writers on art have related to ancestors and to established modes of representation, as well as to contemporary experiences. The "origins" studied here include the earliest art history and criticism; the beginnings of architectural drawing in the Middle Ages and Renaissance; Leonardo Da Vinci's sketches for churches, the first in the Renaissance to propose supporting domes on sculpted walls and piers; and the first architectural photographs. "Imitation" refers to artistic achievements that in part depended on the imitation of forms established in practices outside the fine arts, such as ancient Roman rhetoric and print media. "Conventions," like language, facilitate communication between the artist and viewer, but are both more universal (understood across cultures) and more fixed (resisting variation that might diminish their clarity). The three categories are closely linked throughout the book, as most acts of representation partake to some degree of all three.

The Queen of Sheba and Biblical Scholarship
The Queen of Sheba and Biblical Scholarship

Author: Bernard Leeman

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2015-07-21

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9781515169611

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This book examines evidence connected with the life of Queen of Sheba, including the Sabaean inscription on the Ethiopian plateau, aspects of the Ancient West Arabian language, and geographical references in Ge'ez Kebra Nagast to offer a third alternative. It argues that the Old Testament is an accurate account but its events took place in West Arabia, not Palestine. It suggests that scholars are unwilling to consider such a strong possibility because, if true, it would not only completely undermine the raison d'être of the State of Israel but also force a total reassessment of Biblical, Arabian, and North East African history. Professional archaeology in the Holy Land dates from the 1920s and has been characterized by Jewish and Christian attempts to substantiate the Biblical record. While evidence has been unearthed that supports the account of the post-Babylonian captivity, well-known archaeologists such as Kenyon, Pritchard, Thompson, Glock, Hertzog, Silberman, and Finkelstein have concluded that the Old Testament is either a fantasy or highly exaggerated. Joshua's invasion of Canaan has been reinterpreted as a peaceful migration and traces have been found of the massive public works allegedly contracted in Jerusalem by Solomon or in Samaria by Omri. If they existed, they would have been little more than petty village headmen with imaginative publicists. This so-called minimalist outlook is fiercely challenged by others who believe that the evidence to support the Old Testament has literally yet to be uncovered. By accepting African traditions in providing a solution to the bitter division in Biblical scholarship, this book ranks with Martin Bernal's Black Athena in its degree of controversy and presenting evidence that most scholars should address.

Lorenzo Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise
Lorenzo Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise

Author: Amy R. Bloch

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2016-02-09

Total Pages: 874

ISBN-13: 131640465X

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This book examines the heretofore unsuspected complexity of Lorenzo Ghiberti's sculpted representations of Old Testament narratives in his Gates of Paradise (1425–52), the second set of doors he made for the Florence Baptistery and a masterpiece of Italian Renaissance sculpture. One of the most intellectually engaged and well-read artists of his age, Ghiberti found inspiration in ancient and medieval texts, many of which he and his contacts in Florence's humanist community shared, read, and discussed. He was fascinated by the science of vision, by the functioning of nature, and, above all, by the origins and history of art. These unusually well-defined intellectual interests, reflected in his famous Commentaries, shaped his approach in the Gates. Through the selection, imaginative interpretation, and arrangement of biblical episodes, Ghiberti fashioned multi-textured narratives that explore the human condition and express his ideas on a range of social, political, artistic, and philosophical issues.

Fifteenth- to Eighteenth-century European Drawings
Fifteenth- to Eighteenth-century European Drawings

Author: Egbert Haverkamp Begemann (Kunsthistoriker)

Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 490

ISBN-13: 0870999184

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"Early European art was a consuming interest of both Robert Lehman and his father, Philip Lehman, an interest reflected in the remarkable number and quality of drawings they owned from the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. In addition to an important group of early German drawings, the collection includes a "Saint Paul" from a series associated with Jan van Eyck and the famous "Scupstoel" from the circle of Rogier van der Weyden, the only design for a decorative sculpture to survive from the fifteenth century. The great artists of the seventeenth century, Peter Paul Rubens, Jacob Jordaens, Claude Lorrain, and Rembrandt among them, are also represented, Rembrandt by seven drawings, including the large study of Leonardo's "Last Supper" that would stay in his mind all through his career. Drawings by Antoine Watteau, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, Thomas Gainsborough, Paul Sandby, and George Romney are among the many from eighteenth-century France and England. The volume discusses all 153 drawings at length, placing each in its art historical setting and complementing the discussion with comparative illustrations of related works." This e-book on the MetPublications website is also accompanied by links to related works and under the "Additional resources"tab are links to Met works of art and Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History essays and timelines (viewed May 1, 2014).

Disinformation
Disinformation

Author: Ion Mihai Pacepa

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781936488605

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Former spy chief reveals secret strategies for undermining freedom, attacking religion, and promoting terrorism.