Acknowledgements

Solkin, David H.

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Acknowledgements

David H. Solkin

Description: Painting for Money: The Visual Arts and the Public Sphere in Eighteenth-Century...

Painting for Money: The Visual Arts and the Public Sphere in Eighteenth-Century England

Author

David H. Solkin

PublisherPaul Mellon Centre

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-31852

Acknowledgements

This book has been about a decade in the making, and without the help of certain individuals it might never have seen the light of day. The steadiest supporter of my project—going back to a time when neither of us had any clear idea of the ultimate form it would take—has been Brian Allen, who has met every request for advice or assistance with unfailing thoughtfulness and generosity. I would also like to thank Michael Kitson, together with the rest of his staff at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, for so many kindnesses over so many years. More recently, I have enjoyed the great good fortune of being able to submit my work to a close and critical reading by John Barrell, Dian Kriz, and Alex Potts, each of whom brought my attention to a range of problems that I might well otherwise have overlooked. Their comments have helped make the text far better than it was.

In addition, thanks are due to the University of British Columbia, and to the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Council of Canada, for sponsoring the initial stages of my research. Further support, in a variety of forms, has been generously provided by Tamar Garb, Mrs Pamela Howell, Duncan Robinson, Katie Scott, Elaine Waddington, and Joanna Woodall, as well as several private owners who have kindly allowed me to reproduce pictures in their possession. But above all my gratitude goes to my family—to Sally Kolker, Ben, and Mia—for their constant love and understanding; and to my parents, for their diverse and wonderful gifts.

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Book details

BOOKPainting for Money: The Visual Arts and the Public Sphere in Eighteenth-Century England

David H. Solkin

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-31850

A distinctly modern art world emerged in eighteenth-century England. The period witnessed the establishment of the first public spaces for the display of works of art, widespread discussion of artistic issues, and the rise of an art market responsive to the tastes of a large and diverse audience. In his discussion of these phenomena, David H. Solkin shows how major developments in English painting went hand in hand with rapid economic expansion, and how the sudden light of public exposure transformed pictorial theory and practice.

The book opens by examining the attempts by artists in the early eighteenth century to represent commercial prosperity as a source of moral as well as material well-being. By the 1730s these efforts had borne fruit in an innovative imagery of polite conversation, which in turn laid the foundations for a new kind of public art designed specifically for a middle-class audience. Solkin reveals how market forces soon changed the traditional subject matter of historical painting into something less high-minded and more popular, as artists abandoned the idealized depiction of classical narratives in favor of creating detailed portrayals of contemporary British themes. At the same time, the image of the hero moved away from a character of stern and stoic masculinity toward a new paragon of sensibility and benevolence, designed to appeal to a non-heroic audience. The founding of the Royal Academy in 1768 heralded an attempt to reassert the more exclusive standards of the past, but this did not check the growth of a new genre of painting with its own inner dynamic, meaning, and ambition.

Generously illustrated, including many new color images, and written in a lively style, the book is compulsory reading for anyone interested in eighteenth-century British art, culture, and social history.

*This eBook is available exclusively on the A&AePortal.*

Author

David H. Solkin

PublisherPaul Mellon Centre

Print publication date May 1993 (out of print)

Print ISBN 9780300057416

EISBN 9780300278583

Illustrations 88

Print Status out of print

Publisher (out of print)

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Google Books

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