The Work of Art: Plein Air Painting and Artistic Identity in Nineteenth-century France - Hardcover

Callen, Anthea

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1780233558 ISBN 13: 9781780233550

Publisher: Reaktion Books, 2014

Synopsis

In The Work of Art, Anthea Callen explores the paintings, self-portraits, portraits of fellow artists, photographs, prints and studio images of nineteenth-century French landscape painters including the Impressionists. At the same time she considers the emergence of modern artistic identity in the context of creative work. Artists and their paintings under the microscope here include Courbet, Cezanne and Pissarro, as well as their precursors and followers. The book examines their modes of self-representation and painting methods to explore the formation of avant-garde art and modern artistic identity, while paying particular attention to the painters' touches and mark making. She argues that landscape painting in general, and the plein air oil sketch in particular, were key drivers of change in artistic practice in the nineteenth century, which in turn led to the Impressionist revolution. In this beautifully illustrated, highly readable volume, Callen offers fresh insights into the development of avant-garde French painting and the concept of the modern artist, delving deeper into the topic than any before.

About this title

Review:

"Callen, probably more than anyone else working on nineteenth-century painting today, is able to combine an artist's experience of studio practice with an art historian's rigorous use of documentation. Her work is immensely valuable for its combination of sensitive visual observation and scrupulous attention to details of historical fact. . . . This book is a major accomplishment."--Richard Shiff, University of Texas at Austin

Callen, probably more than anyone else working on nineteenth-century painting today, is able to combine an artist s experience of studio practice with an art historian s rigorous use of documentation. Her work is immensely valuable for its combination of sensitive visual observation and scrupulous attention to details of historical fact. . . . This book is a major accomplishment. --Richard Shiff, University of Texas at Austin"

About the Author:

Anthea Callen is Professor of Art (Practice-led Research) at the Australian National University School of Art, Canberra, and Professor Emeritus of Visual Culture at the University of Nottingham. She is an internationally renowned specialist on the history of artists' materials and techniques whose publications include The Art of Impressionism: Painting Technique and the Making of Modernity (2000) and Art, Sex and Eugenics: Corpus Delecti (2008, co-edited with Fae Brauer).

About this edition

• Publisher: Reaktion Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1780233558
• ISBN 13: 9781780233550
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256