Bartholomeus Spranger: Splendor and Eroticism in Imperial Prague

Bartholomeus Spranger: Splendor and Eroticism in Imperial Prague PDF Author: Sally Metzler
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art
ISBN: 0300208065
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 382

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Book Description
The Flemish artist Bartholomeus Spranger (1546–1611) was a master of Mannerism, serving a cardinal, a pope, and two Holy Roman Emperors—most notably, as court painter for Rudolf II in Prague. Unlike most artists of the period, he defies classification as “Northern” or “Southern”; instead, Spranger became one of the first truly international artists, achieving his greatest success in Central Europe after spending a crucial decade in Italy. Favoring an elegant style, virtuoso technique, and erotically charged subjects, he was particularly celebrated for his amorously entwined nudes. In addition, he created paintings, drawings, and prints of evocative religious and political allegories, as well as atmospheric landscapes and a few rare portraits, all of which offer an abundance of visual pleasure. Despite the widespread fame and influence he attained during his lifetime, Spranger has become an elusive and misunderstood figure. Bartholomeus Spranger: Splendor and Eroticism in Imperial Prague is the first book in English to be devoted to his art and life. It contains four sections—on paintings, drawings, etchings, and engravings related to his work—that chronicle his stylistic genesis and capture the complexity of his prolific oeuvre. Examining Spranger’s career against the backdrop of European culture, politics, and intellectual history, the book traces his artistic journey from Antwerp to Prague, with sojourns along the way in France, Italy, and Vienna. The detailed catalogue entries, including several newly discovered works, illuminate his development and reshape our understanding of it. The result is a major contribution to art history, restoring Bartholomeus Spranger to his rightful position as one of the most important and influential artists of the era.

Bartholomeus Spranger: Splendor and Eroticism in Imperial Prague

Bartholomeus Spranger: Splendor and Eroticism in Imperial Prague PDF Author: Sally Metzler
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art
ISBN: 0300208065
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 382

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Flemish artist Bartholomeus Spranger (1546–1611) was a master of Mannerism, serving a cardinal, a pope, and two Holy Roman Emperors—most notably, as court painter for Rudolf II in Prague. Unlike most artists of the period, he defies classification as “Northern” or “Southern”; instead, Spranger became one of the first truly international artists, achieving his greatest success in Central Europe after spending a crucial decade in Italy. Favoring an elegant style, virtuoso technique, and erotically charged subjects, he was particularly celebrated for his amorously entwined nudes. In addition, he created paintings, drawings, and prints of evocative religious and political allegories, as well as atmospheric landscapes and a few rare portraits, all of which offer an abundance of visual pleasure. Despite the widespread fame and influence he attained during his lifetime, Spranger has become an elusive and misunderstood figure. Bartholomeus Spranger: Splendor and Eroticism in Imperial Prague is the first book in English to be devoted to his art and life. It contains four sections—on paintings, drawings, etchings, and engravings related to his work—that chronicle his stylistic genesis and capture the complexity of his prolific oeuvre. Examining Spranger’s career against the backdrop of European culture, politics, and intellectual history, the book traces his artistic journey from Antwerp to Prague, with sojourns along the way in France, Italy, and Vienna. The detailed catalogue entries, including several newly discovered works, illuminate his development and reshape our understanding of it. The result is a major contribution to art history, restoring Bartholomeus Spranger to his rightful position as one of the most important and influential artists of the era.

The Mage's Images: Heinrich Khunrath in His Oratory and Laboratory, Volume 1

The Mage's Images: Heinrich Khunrath in His Oratory and Laboratory, Volume 1 PDF Author: Peter J. Forshaw
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004691391
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 498

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Book Description
This is the 1st volume in a 4-volume work entitled The Mage’s Images. The work provides the first in-depth examination of the life and works of Heinrich Khunrath (1560-1605), ‘one of the great Hermetic philosophers’, whose Amphitheatre of Eternal Wisdom (1595/1609) has been described as ‘one of the most important books in the whole literature of theosophical alchemy and the occult sciences’. Khunrath is best known for his novel combination of ‘scripture and picture’ in the complex engravings in his Amphitheatre. In this richly illustrated monograph, Forshaw analyses occult symbolism, with previously unpublished material, offering insight into Khunrath’s insistence on the necessary combination of alchemy, magic, and cabala in ‘Oratory and Laboratory’.

Sculpture Collections in Europe and the United States 1500-1930

Sculpture Collections in Europe and the United States 1500-1930 PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004458840
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
Exploring the variety of forms taken by collections of sculpture, this volume presents new research by twelve internationally recognized scholars. The essays delve into the motivations of different collectors, the modes of display, and the aesthetics of viewing sculpture, bringing to light much new archival material. The book underscores the ambiguous nature of sculpture collections, variously understood as decorative components of interiors or gardens, as objects of desire in cabinets of curiosity, or as autonomous works of art in private and public collections. Emphasizing the collections and the ways in which these were viewed and described, this book addresses a significant but neglected aspect of art collecting and contributes to the literature on this branch of art and cultural history. This book evolved from a symposium "Sculpture Collecting and Display, 1600-2000," organized by the Center for the History of Collecting, that was held at The Frick Collection on May 19 and 20, 2017. Both the book and the symposium were made possible through the generous support of the Robert H. Smith Family Foundation. The book is published in association with The Frick Collection.

Theatre of Sexual Attraction and Psychological Destruction

Theatre of Sexual Attraction and Psychological Destruction PDF Author: Karl A.E. Enenkel
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 900469465X
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 529

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Book Description
The book examines the myth of Hercules and Omphale/Iole which became an important topic in the visual arts, 1500–1800. It offers an analysis of the iconography from the perspective of the history of emotions, classical and Neo-Latin philology, reception and gender studies. The early modern inventions of the myth excel in a skilful display of mixed and compound emotions, such as the male character's psychopathology, and of the theatrical performance of emotions by the female character.

Rudolf II

Rudolf II PDF Author: Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann
Publisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 1836390629
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
A reinterpretation of the Habsburgian ruler’s reign as exemplary rather than reclusive. Rudolf II offers a fresh perspective on the Habsburg ruler, shedding new light on a reign often colored by myths of madness. Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann argues that, contrary to popular belief, Rudolf was not a passive recluse but an engaged monarch, navigating the complexities of state affairs with a moderate hand amid turbulent times. By contextualizing Rudolf’s interests in astrology, alchemy, and magic, this book offers new insights into the emperor’s support for scientific endeavors and his quest for power. Kaufmann also demonstrates that Rudolf’s assembling of the greatest Kunstkammer and painting collection of his time and his patronage of artists were essential elements of Renaissance rulership.

The Oxford Handbook of the Baroque

The Oxford Handbook of the Baroque PDF Author: John D. Lyons
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190678461
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 907

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Book Description
Few periods in history are so fundamentally contradictory as the Baroque, the culture flourishing from the mid-sixteenth to the mid-eighteenth centuries in Europe. When we hear the term âBaroque,â the first images that come to mind are symmetrically designed gardens in French chateaux, scenic fountains in Italian squares, and the vibrant rhythms of a harpsichord. Behind this commitment to rule, harmony, and rigid structure, however, the Baroque also embodies a deep fascination with wonder, excess, irrationality, and rebellion against order. The Oxford Handbook of the Baroque delves into this contradiction to provide a sweeping survey of the Baroque not only as a style but also as a historical, cultural, and intellectual concept. With its thirty-eight chapters edited by leading expert John D. Lyons, the Handbook explores different manifestations of Baroque culture, from theatricality in architecture and urbanism to opera and dance, from the role of water to innovations in fashion, from mechanistic philosophy and literature to the tension between religion and science. These discussions present the Baroque as a broad cultural phenomenon that arose in response to the enormous changes emerging from the sixteenth century: the division between Catholics and Protestants, the formation of nation-states and the growth of absolutist monarchies, the colonization of lands outside Europe and the mutual impact of European and non-European cultures. Technological developments such as the telescope and the microscope and even greater access to high-quality mirrors altered mankindâs view of the universe and of human identity itself. By exploring the Baroque in relation to these larger social upheavals, this Handbook reveals a fresh and surprisingly modern image of the Baroque as a powerful response to an epoch of crisis.

The Habsburgs

The Habsburgs PDF Author: Martyn Rady
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 1541644492
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 471

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Book Description
The definitive history of a powerful family dynasty who dominated Europe for centuries -- from their rise to power to their eventual downfall. In The Habsburgs, Martyn Rady tells the epic story of a dynasty and the world it built -- and then lost -- over nearly a millennium. From modest origins, the Habsburgs gained control of the Holy Roman Empire in the fifteenth century. Then, in just a few decades, their possessions rapidly expanded to take in a large part of Europe, stretching from Hungary to Spain, and parts of the New World and the Far East. The Habsburgs continued to dominate Central Europe through the First World War. Historians often depict the Habsburgs as leaders of a ramshackle empire. But Rady reveals their enduring power, driven by the belief that they were destined to rule the world as defenders of the Roman Catholic Church, guarantors of peace, and patrons of learning. The Habsburgs is the definitive history of a remarkable dynasty that forever changed Europe and the world.

Rubens, Rembrandt, and Drawing in the Golden Age

Rubens, Rembrandt, and Drawing in the Golden Age PDF Author: Victoria Sancho Lobis
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300247079
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
An extraordinary history of Netherlandish drawing, focused on the training and skill of artists during the long 17th century With a lively narrative thread and thematic chapters, this book offers an exceptional introduction to Dutch and Flemish drawing during the long 17th century. Victoria Sancho Lobis discusses the many roles of drawing in artistic training, its function in the production of works in other media, and its emergence as a medium in its own right. Beautifully illustrated with some 120 drawings by artists including Rembrandt van Rijn, Peter Paul Rubens, Hendrick Goltzius, Gerrit von Honthorst, and Jacob De Gheyn, this book surveys current methodologies of studying these works and features a brief history of Dutch papermaking and watermarks as well as a glossary. Paying careful attention to materials and techniques, and informed by recent conservation treatments, Lobis explains how to look at these drawings as records of experimentation and skill, true windows into the artist’s mind.

Pleasure and Piety

Pleasure and Piety PDF Author: James Clifton
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691166064
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
"The exhibition is organized by the Centraal Museum Utrecht; the National Gallery of Art, Washington; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation."--Title page verso.

Lines of Connection

Lines of Connection PDF Author: Edina Adam
Publisher: Getty Publications
ISBN: 1606069659
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
The first volume to chart the rich and reciprocal relationship between drawing and printmaking from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries While often viewed and studied separately, drawings and prints have always been closely intertwined. They facilitated and generated the production of one another, and in some instances, clear distinctions between the two dissolved. Many artists created drawings specifically intended for translation into print, and an even greater number used prints as a training tool, copying from them to hone drawing skills. This reciprocal relationship goes even deeper, however, as innovative artists made fascinating hybrid works that blurred the boundaries between the two media, pushing against modern definitions and hierarchies. Lines of Connection charts these historical and geographical continuities for the first time by bringing together works on paper of superb quality, foregrounding issues of artistic process and collaboration, technical innovation, and creative ingenuity. Featuring over 170 prints and drawings by such artists as Albrecht Dürer, Parmigianino, Hendrick Goltzius, Maria Sibylla Merian, Rembrandt van Rijn, and William Blake, this catalogue is a rich narrative introduction to the compelling, yet understudied, relationship between drawing and printmaking.