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Modern Painters, Old Masters

The Art of Imitation from the Pre-Raphaelites to the First World War
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
"Modern Painters, Old Masters" explores the Victorian era's unique relationship with art history, focusing on the 19th-century rise of museums like London's National Gallery and the wide availability of reproduced artworks. Elizabeth Prettejohn reveals how British artists, inspired by Old Masters such as Botticelli, van Eyck, and VelΓ‘zquez, engaged in a creative process of imitation and emulation, which paradoxically fostered originality. The book covers influential figures from the Pre-Raphaelites to early modernists, including Rossetti, Burne-Jones, and Orpen, tracing how they transformed the art of the past into some of the era's finest works. Published in collaboration with the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, this volume offers an insightful analysis of Victorian art's dynamic dialogue with history.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for enthusiasts of art history, particularly those interested in Victorian art and the Pre-Raphaelite movement. It also appeals to scholars, students, and readers fascinated by the cultural interplay between historical artworks and 19th-century British artists.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! 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 VelΓ‘zquez, 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, Modern Painters, Old Masters 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.

Published in association with the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Critics praise the book for its insightful examination of Victorian artists' imitation of past art as a form of originality. Nicholas Penny of the London Review of Books highlights its contribution to re-evaluating the Pre-Raphaelites, while Nicholas Tromans in the Burlington Magazine calls it a "brilliantly realised excavation" of Victorian painters' mindset. Readers find it a pleasure to read (Susan Owens, TLS), rich in detail warranting further study (Paul Flux, Albion Magazine Online), and a valuable reference (Mark Jones, Pre-Raphaelite Society Review). The book cements Prettejohn's reputation as a leading scholar of Victorian art (Andrew Saint, The Victorian).

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780300222753

Publisher: Yale University Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 02 May 2017

Country: United States

Imprint: Yale University Press

Illustration: 130 color + 30 b-w illus.

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 191.0mm

Height: 254.0mm

Weight: 1179g

Pages: 288

About the Author

Elizabeth Prettejohn is professor of history of art at the University of York.

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