In the latter half of the 18th century, Johannes Wiedewelt (1731-1802) played a pivotal role in introducing an early form of Neoclassicism into Danish sculpture by creating a large number of monuments for many different purposes. In the 1750s, he studied in Paris and Rome, where he became part of an international network of pioneering artists and scholars, including J.J. Winckelmann. In Denmark, Wiedewelt endeavored to translate the ancient idiom in statuary and monuments into an 'eternal' national monument style. This volume reassesses Wiedewelt's role in the service of art, art theory, academic education, design, etc. Special emphasis is placed on his studies of Classical Antiquity and Danish prehistoric and medieval monuments, which makes him particularly interesting for the history of archaeology. This is the first book-length study of Johannes Wiedewelt in English.
Using the tools of the "new" art history (feminism, Marxism, social context, etc.) An Introduction to Nineteenth-Century Art offers a richly textured, yet clear and logical, introduction to nineteenth-century art and culture. This textbook will provide readers with a basic historical framework of the period and the critical tools for interpreting and situating new and unfamiliar works of art. Michelle Facos goes beyond existing histories of nineteenth-century art, which often focus solely on France, Britain, and the United States, to incorporate artists and artworks from Scandinavia, Germany, and Eastern Europe. The book expertly balances its coverage of trends and individual artworks: where the salient trends are clear, trend-setting works are highlighted, and the complexity of the period is respected by situating all works in their proper social and historical context. In this way, the student reader achieves a more nuanced understanding of the way in which the story of nineteenth-century art is the story of the ways in which artists and society grappled with the problem of modernity. Key pedagogical features include: Data boxes provide statistics, timelines, charts, and historical information about the period to further situate artworks. Text boxes highlight extracts from original sources, citing the ideas of artists and their contemporaries, including historians, philosophers, critics, and theorists, to place artists and works in the broader context of aesthetic, cultural, intellectual, social, and political conditions in which artists were working. Beautifully illustrated with over 250 color images. Margin notes and glossary definitions. Online resources at www.routledge.com/textbooks/facos with access to a wealth of information, including original documents pertaining to artworks discussed in the textbook, contemporary criticism, timelines and maps to enrich your understanding of the period and allow for further comparison and exploration. Chapters take a thematic approach combined within an overarching chronology and more detailed discussions of individual works are always put in the context of the broader social picture, thus providing students with a sense of art history as a controversial and alive arena of study. Michelle Facos teaches art history at Indiana University, Bloomington. Her research explores the changing relationship between artists and society since the Enlightenment and issues of identity. Prior publications include Nationalism and the Nordic Imagination: Swedish Painting of the 1890s (1998), Art, Culture and National Identity in Fin-de-Siècle Europe, co-edited with Sharon Hirsh (2003), and Symbolist Art in Context (2009).
Renowned for his work within the fields of Numismatics, Archaeology, Egyptology and Coptic studies, Georg Zoëga was a figure of outstanding importance both in Rome and in Europe, at the end of the eighteenth century. Although highly valued by his contemporaries, Zoëga’s scientific legacy fell almost entirely into oblivion with the end of the Enlightenment. The Forgotten Scholar: Georg Zoëga (1755-1819): At the Dawn of Egyptology and Coptic Studies represents an exceptional occasion to rediscover the largely unknown scientific legacy of this Danish scholar consisting of hundreds of letters, drawings, sketches, notes, and other documents, mainly preserved in the Royal Library and in the Thorvaldsen Museum of Copenhagen.
This volume contains eighteen articles dealing with the "reception" of Classical art and architecture in the Scandinavian countries, mainly Denmark, from the Renaissance onwards. This volume is the publication of an interdisciplinary seminar held at the University of Copenhagen 1988 with the participation of archaeologists and art historians.
Neoclassicism refers to the revival of classical art and architecture beginning in Europe in the 1750s until around 1830, with late neoclassicism lingering through the 1870s. It is a highly complex movement that brought together seemingly disparate issues into a new and culturally rich era, one that was unified under a broad interest in classical antiquity. The movement was born in Italy and France and spread across Europe to Russia and the United States. It was motivated by a desire to use ideas from antiquity to help address modern social, economic, and political issues in Europe, and neoclassicism came to be viewed as a style and philosophy that offered a sense of purpose and dignity to art, following the new “enlightened” thinking. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Neoclassical Art and Architecture contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries cover late Baroque and Rococo tendencies found in the early 18th century, and span the century to include artists who moved from neoclassicism to early romanticism. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about neoclassical art and architecture.
The importance of the late 18th century in the genesis of modern art emerges in these four essays on various aspects of the art and architecture of a neglected period.
