Modern Painters, Old Masters: The Art of Imitation from the Pre-Raphaelites to the First World War

Author: Prettejohn, Elizabeth

Brand: Paul Mellon Centre

Edition: Illustrated

Binding: Hardcover

Format: Illustrated

Number Of Pages: 288

Release Date: 06-06-2017

Part Number: 9780300222753

Details: Product Description With the rise of museums in the 19th century, including the formation in 1824 of the National Gallery in London, as well as the proliferation of widely available published reproductions, the art of the past became visible and accessible in Victorian England as never before. Inspired by the work of Sandro Botticelli, Jan van Eyck, Diego Velázquez, and others, British artists elevated contemporary art to new heights through a creative process that emphasized imitation and emulation. Elizabeth Prettejohn analyzes the ways in which the Old Masters were interpreted by critics, curators, and scholars, and argues that Victorian artists were, paradoxically, at their most original when they imitated the Old Masters most faithfully.  Covering the arc of Victorian art from the Pre-Raphaelites through to the early modernists, this volume traces the ways in which artists such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, and William Orpen engaged with the art of the past and produced some of the greatest art of the later 19th century.  Review “Many art historians have emphasised the ways in which the Pre-Raphaelites imitated the art of the past. Prettejohn not only looks again at the nature of this imitation but demonstrates how it enabled them to contribute to the re-evaluation of that art.” —Nicholas Penny, London Review of Books “Modern Painters, Old Masters argues persuasively that artists have succeeded in reimagining earlier work without engaging in aggressive competition . . . Prettejohn suggests that nineteenth-century painters had more than one way of overturning established hierarchies. . . . [An] elegant book.”—Ruth Bernard Yeazell, New York Review of Books Book Description Arguing that Victorian artists were at their most original when they faithfully imitated Old Masters, this book traces the engagement of 19th-century British artists with the art of the past. About the Author Elizabeth Prettejohn is professor of history of art at the University of York. 

EAN: 9780300222753

Package Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.8 x 1.0 inches

Languages: English