Invisible City analyzes conventual architecture in terms of the politics of sight, "the optics of power", the relationship between flesh and stone. It uncovers the connections between the bodies of the nuns and the walls that housed them, presenting the architecture of female convents as a metaphor for the body of the aristocratic female virgin nun.

These rare 17th-century views of celebrated Roman fountains and gardens constitute some of the finest and most accurate landscape drawings of the Italian Baroque period. The only edition in print, this compilation of outstanding engravings will be of immense interest to architectural historians as well as travelers to Rome and lovers of art and architecture.

Jennifer Montagu is a world-renowned art historian whose name has become synonymous with the study of Italian Baroque sculpture. In honor of Jennifer Montagu's immeasurable contribution to the field of Italian Baroque sculpture, sixty-two of the foremost scholars of European sculpture have been invited to participate in a symposium in her honor on 6 - 7 September 2013 at the Wallace Collection, London. Thirty of the papers presented there were selected for the publication as a tribute to this generous colleague and friend who has inspired and mentored dozens of younger historians in European art. Dr. Montagu's academic work began in Political Science at Oxford, but conversations with Ernst Gombrich led her to pursue an advanced degree in art history instead. In 1963, long before the study of Italian bronze statuettes reached the level of interest that it enjoys today, her classic survey, simply titled Bronzes, was met with great enthusiasm, eventually being printed in five languages. Montagu taught at the University of Reading until 1964, when she became an assistant curator of the Photographic Collection at the Warburg Institute. In 1971 she became a full curator of the collection, a position she held until 1991. During these years she published at an indefatigable rate, and following her retirement from that post, her productivity only increased. Montagu was a Slade Professor of Fine Art at Cambridge University, a Mellon Professor at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (National Gallery of Art,Washington, D.C.), and a visiting professor at the College de France. Montagu's numerous publications include her monumental study of Alessandro Algardi (Yale University Press, 1985), Roman Baroque Sculpture: the Industry of Art (Yale, 1989) and Gold, Silver and Bronze: Metal Sculpture of the Italian Baroque (Mellon Lectures, CASVA; Yale University Press, 1996). She was appointed LVO (Royal Victorian Order) in 2006 for services to the Royal Collection and CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 2012 for her contribution to the history of art.

Rembrandt's Light brings together 35 carefully selected paintings that focus on Rembrandt's mastery of light and visual storytelling, concentrating on his greatest years from 1639-1658, when he lived in his ideal house at Breestraat in the heart of Amsterdam (today the Museum Het Rembrandthuis). Its striking, light-infused studio was the site for the creation of Rembrandt's most exceptional paintings, prints and drawings including 'The Denial of St Peter' and 'The Artist's Studio'.

Arranged thematically the book will trace Rembrandt's innovation: from evoking a meditative mood, to lighting people, to creating impact and drama. Highlights will include three of Rembrandt's most famous images of women: 'A Woman Bathing in a Stream', 'A Woman in Bed' and the inimitable 'Girl at a Window'.

Published to coincide with an exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery in 2019 with celebrations taking place throughout Europe to mark 350 years since the artist's death (1669), this publication aims to refresh the way we look at works by this incomparable Dutch Master.

This book is a collection of fourteen essays on the Dialogues on Painting, published by the Florentine-born Spanish painter and art theorist Vicente Carducho (1568–1638) in 1633. This was the first treatise in Spanish on the art of painting, written as part of a campaign led by Carducho in collaboration with other prominent painters working in Madrid, to raise the status of the artist from artisan to liberal artist. The treatise provides an overview of the melding of Italian Renaissance art theory and Madrilenian practice in the baroque era. It also offers first-hand insight into collecting in Madrid during this crucial period in the rapid expansion of the capital city. The present collection of essays by art historians and hispanists from the UK, Spain, Germany and the US examines each of the dialogues in detail, furnishing an account of Carducho’s campaign to establish a painting academy and to professionalise the office of the painter; detailing the publication history of the treatise and the interrelationship between painting and poetry; and it cites Carducho’s own painting in relation to the Italian and Spanish traditions within which he operated.

The legendary splendor of Genoese baroque art Genoa completed its transformation from a faded maritime power into a thriving banking center for Europe in the seventeenth century. The wealth accumulated by its leading families spurred investment in the visual arts on an enormous scale. This volume explores how artists both foreign and native created a singularly rich and extravagant expression of the baroque in works of extraordinary variety, sumptuousness, and exuberance. This art, however, has remained largely hidden behind the facades of the city's palaces, with few works, apart from those by the school's great expatriates, found beyond its borders. As a result, the Genoese baroque has been insufficiently considered or appreciated. Lavishly illustrated, A Superb Baroque is comprehensive, encompassing all the major media and participants. Presented are some 140 select works by the celebrated foreigners drawn to the city and its flourishing environment-from Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, and Giulio Cesare Procaccini to Pierre Puget, Marcantonio Franceschini, and Francesco Solimena; by the major Genoese masters active for much of their careers in other settings-Bernardo Strozzi, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, Filippo Parodi, and Alessandro Magnasco; and above all by the brilliantly synthetic but unfamiliar masters who worked primarily in Genoa itself-Gioacchino Assereto, Valerio Castello, Domenico Piola, and Gregorio De Ferrari. Offering three levels of exploration-essays that frame and interpret, section introductions that characterize principal currents and stages, and texts that elucidate individual works-this volume is by far the most extensive study of the Genoese baroque in the English language. Published in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC Exhibition Schedule Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome March 4-June 19, 2022

The essays in this volume show that Versailles was not the static creation of one man, but a hugely complex cultural space; a centre of power, but also of life, love, anxiety, creation, and an enduring palimpsest of aspirations, desires, and ruptures. The splendour of the Château and the masterpieces of art and design that it contains mask a more complex and sometimes more sordid history of human struggle and achievement. The case studies presented by the contributors to this book cannot provide a comprehensive account of the Palace of Versailles and its domains, the life within its walls, its visitors, and the art and architecture that it has inspired from the seventeenth century to the present day: from the palace of the Sun King to the Penthouse of Donald Trump. However, this innovative collection will reshape—or even radically redefine—our understanding of the palace of Versailles and its posterity.

This scholarly publication presents the work of the designer, painter and illustrator Claude Gillot (1673-1722). The first volume on the artist in English, it accompanies a major exhibition at the Morgan Library& Museum that explores Gillot's inventive and highly original draftsmanship and places his work in the context of artistic and intellectual activity in Paris ca. 1700. The history of eighteenth-century French art under the ancien regime is dominated by great names. But the artistic scene in Paris at the dawn of the century was diverse and included artists who forged careers largely outside of the Royal Academy. Among them was Claude Gillot. Known primarily as a draftsman, Gillot specialized in witty scenes taken from the Italian commedia dell'arte plays performed at fairground theaters and vignettes of satyrs enacting rituals that expose human folly. The book will address Gillot's work as a designer, painter, and book illustrator, and advance a chronology for his career. Crafting a timeline for Gillot's life and work will clarify his relationship with his younger collaborators Antoine Watteau and Nicolas Lancret. Through an artistic biography and six chapters, each devoted to an aspect of his oeuvre, Gillot's role in developing quintessential rococo subjects is established. We follow Gillot from his start as the son of a decorative painter in the bishopric of Langres to his arrival in Paris in the 1690s, as the city and its secular entertainments flourished apart from the royal court at Versailles. Myriad opportunities awaited artists outside official channels, and Gillot built his career working in the theater and as a painter and designer long before seeking official academic status. His involvement with writers, playwrights, and printmakers helped define his sphere. Gillot's preference for theatrical subjects brought him critical attention, and also attracted talented assistants such as Watteau and Lancret. Gillot came to prominence around 1712 working at the Paris Opera and as a printmaker and illustrator of books, lending his droll humor to satires. By 1720, Gillot was enlisted to design costumes for the last royal ballet, one of the final projects of his career. He died nine months after his most celebrated pupil, Watteau. The sale of his estate, which including his designs and many etched copper plates, provided material for printmakers and publishers and ensured Gillot's lasting fame among print connoisseurs. His oeuvre as a draftsman and painter, however, was largely forgotten until drawings and canvases began to emerge in the first half of the twentieth century.

This beautiful publication accompanies an exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum of the work of Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778). It is the most important study of Piranesi’s drawings to appear in more than a generation. In a letter written near the end of his life, Giovanni Battista Piranesi explained to his sister that he had lived away from his native Venice because he could find no patrons there willing to support “the sublimity of my ideas.” He resided instead in Rome, where he became internationally famous working as a printmaker, designer, architect, archaeologist, theorist, dealer, and polemicist. While Piranesi’s lasting fame is based above all on his etchings, he was also an intense, accomplished, and versatile draftsman, and much of his work was first developed in vigorous drawings. The Morgan Library& Museum holds what is arguably the largest and most important collection of these works, more than 100 drawings that include early architectural caprices, studies for prints, measured design drawings, sketches for a range of decorative objects, a variety of figural drawings, and views of Rome and Pompeii. These works form the core of the book, which will be published on the occasion of the Morgan’s Spring 2023 exhibition of Piranesi drawings. More than merely an exhibition catalogue or a study of the Morgan’s Piranesi holdings, however, this publication is a monograph that offers a complete survey of Piranesi’s work as a draftsman. It includes discussion of Piranesi’s drawings in public and private collections worldwide, with particular attention paid to the large surviving groups of drawings in New York, Berlin, Hamburg, and London; it also puts the large newly discovered cache of Piranesi material in Karlsruhe in context. The most comprehensive study of Piranesi’s drawings to appear in more than a generation, the book includes more than 200 illustrations, and while focused on the drawings it offers insights on Piranesi’s print publications, his church of Santa Maria del Priorato, and his work as a designer and dealer. In sum, the present work offers a new account of Piranesi’s life and work, based on the evidence of his drawings.

This catalogue accompanies an exhibition at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts that will shine a spotlight on Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564 - 1637/38), an artist who was hugely successful in his lifetime but whose later reputation has been overshadowed by that of his famous father, Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c.1525 - 1569). Peasants and Proverbs: Pieter Brueghel the Younger as Moralist and Entrepreneur shares recent research into the Barber's comical yet enigmatic little painting, Two Peasants Binding Firewood, setting out fresh insights and offering a new appreciation of a figure whose prodigious output and business skills firmly established and popularised the distinctive 'Brueghelian' look of Netherlandish peasant life. Born in Brussels, Pieter Brueghel the Younger was just five years old when his renowned father died prematurely. Clearly talented, by the time he was around 20 years old, Brueghel the Younger was already registered as a master in Antwerp's Guild of Saint Luke. Between 1588, the year of his marriage, and 1626, he took on nine apprentices, demonstrating that he had established a successful studio. His workshop produced an abundance of paintings, ranging from exact copies of famous compositions by his father, to pastiches and more inventive compositions that further promoted the distinctive Bruegelian 'family style', usually focused on scenes of peasant life. He was, as a consequence, later deemed a second-rate painter, capable of only producing derivative works. This exhibition and book highlight how a more sophisticated understanding is now emerging of a creative and capable artist, and a savvy entrepreneur, who exploited favourable market conditions from his base in cosmopolitan Antwerp. From this deeper understanding of his practice, his favoured subjects and the market for them, we gain a more profound and compelling insight into the society in which he operated and its preoccupations and passions. A dozen other versions of Two Peasants Binding Firewood exist and, by examining some of them alongside the Barber painting, and using the insights gleaned from recent conservation work and technical analysis, the exhibition and book will explore how Brueghel the Younger operated his studio to produce and reproduce paintings, and the extent to which the entire enterprise was motivated by trends in the contemporary art market.

This beautifully illustrated catalogue presents a selection of exceptional seventeenth-century Dutch drawings from the Peck Collection in the Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Featuring many previously unpublished and rarely exhibited works, the catalogue brings together examples by some of the best-known artists of the era such as Rembrandt, Jacques de Gheyn II, Samuel van Hoogstraten, and Frans van Mieris. The collection was donated to the museum in 2017 by the late Drs. Sheldon and Leena Peck. The transformative gift is comprised of over 130 largely seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Dutch and Flemish drawings, establishing the Ackland as one of a handful of university art museums in the United States where northern European drawings can be studied in depth. Drawn to Life presents around 70 works from this exceptional and diverse group of drawings amassed by the Pecks over four decades. Featuring new research and fresh insights into seventeenth-century drawing practice, the catalogue and accompanying exhibition celebrates the creativity and technical skills of Dutch artists who explored the beauty of the natural world and the multifaceted aspects of humanity. The catalogue features a broad selection of scenes of everyday life, landscapes, biblical and historical scenes, portraits, and preparatory studies, forming a dynamic and representative group of Dutch drawings made by some of the most outstanding artists of the period, including Abraham Bloemaert, Jacob van Ruisdael, Esaias van de Velde, Bartholomeus Breenbergh, Pieter Molijn, Aelbert Cuyp, Adriaen van Ostade, Ferdinand Bol, Nicolaes Maes, Jan Lievens, Gerard ter Borch, Adriaen van de Velde, Nicolaes Berchem, and Cornelis Dusart. Key sheets of remarkable quality by lesserknown artists such as Guillam Dubois, Herman Naiwincx, Willem Romeyn, and Jacob van der Ulft, also comprise a core strength of the collection, and serve as a testament to the visual acuity of the Pecks as collectors. At the heart of the Peck Collection are several sheets by Rembrandt, including the sublime Noli me Tangere; a beautifully rendered late landscape, Canal and Boats with a Distant View of Amsterdam; and the superbly charming Studies of Women and Children, which was the last of Rembrandt's seventeen known drawings with an inscription in his own hand to reach a public collection. Meticulously researched and written by Robert Fucci, Ph.D., Drawn to Life introduces both scholars and drawings enthusiasts to the depth and beauty of the Peck Collection at the Ackland Art Museum.

This fascinating book provides a fresh perspective on the understanding of sacred imagery and its use through selected studies related to seventeenthcentury Roman visual culture. Painting, Patronage and Deovtion: A Focus on Seven Roman Baroque Masterpieces will accompany an exhibition of works by prominent Baroque artists, at the Villa Mondragone, a Renaissance Papal Villa in the countryside of Rome. The highlight of catalogue and exhibition is a group of masterpieces by seven prominent artists of the seventeenth century: six altarpieces by Carlo Saraceni, Valentin de Boulogne, Andrea Sacchi, Andrea Camassei, Pietro da Cortona, and Carlo Maratti, and one easel painting by Guido Reni commissioned for private devotion. Most of the paintings will be on public view for the first time. The publication offers new approaches to the study of the complex processes involved in the making of a work of art. By reconstructing the religious and social dynamics of artistic patronage and the context of worship and devotion in which these paintings - fully documented by primary sources - were executed, the volume explores the visual impact of these works on the viewers. This beautifully illustrated book will feature remarkable new photographs and details of diagnostic analysis of Pietro da Cortona's and Carlo Maratti's altarpieces.

Fashion ruled the courts of the "Sun King," Louis XIV (1638-1715), and his successor, Louis XV (1710-1774). The Sun King's quest for glory and love of conspicuous adornment manifested itself in his apparel, and he forced the courtiers of Versailles to adopt similarly grand Baroque styles. A lighter fashion sense prevailed at the court of Louis XV, who favored Rococo styles of exquisite refinement. This magnificently rendered, scrupulously researched coloring book features a wide spectrum of both fashion worlds, with detailed and informative captions for each illustration. Dover Original. 45 full-page black-and-white illustrations. 5 color illustrations on covers.

El presente estudio explora El libro de romances y coplas del Carmelo de Valladolid [c. 1590-1609] escrito por las hermanas carmelitas descalzas del Convento de la Concepcion del Carmen en Valladolid Espana a finales del siglo XVI y principios del XVII. Por medio de esta monografia demostraremos de que manera estas mujeres utilizaban la poesia, escrita por hombres, que tenian a su alcance y entonces, reconfiguraban el discurso masculino, haciendolo propio y lo adaptaban a su delicada voz. Apuntaremos la forma en que estas mujeres describian a otras mujeres revistiendolas de carne y hueso, tan poderosas, tan hermosas y tan espirituales, difiriendo - en muchas ocasiones - del convencional modelo petrarquista de descripcion femenina en el que la mujer era representada como una estatua fria y rigida. Estas escritoras entonaban sus versos para su esposo espiritual con la misma intensidad que los mas atrevidos poetas decantaban sus corazones al exaltar a sus musas. Las poetisas del cancionero tomaron prestada la forma y el contenido de la lirica masculina pero los adaptaron a su amorosa, delicada y religiosa voz.

Civic group portraits, depicting trades and guilds, militias, magistrates, governors of charitable institutions and confraternities, were in the old duchy of Brabant during the Ancien Regime much better represented than is generally thought. Some hundred paintings are revealed, especially in the cities of Antwerp, Brussels, Leuven and Mechelen. For the first time, the book zooms in on this important subgenre of Flemish portraiture. The paintings present a wide variety of compositional types and integrated iconographic elements. Monumental life-size portraits coexist with small scale representations. At the same time, there is a clear differentiation in typology according to the city where they were produced. Along with the formal analysis, attention is paid to the material-technical genesis of these compositions, combining in some cases visual observation with scientific imagery and archival evidence. Also the question why patrons would order a group portrait, and how to interpret such 'corporate splendour', is dealt with, making use of the richly collected contemporary documents, which permit to contextualize the portraits and, in some cases, reconstruct their original habitat. They thus shed light on a number of factors that were involved in the realization of Brabantine civic group portraits: the type of patrons and their socio-economic and political position; the immediate cause for ordering a group portrait; the artists called upon; the prices and terms of payment; and the destination - (semi)public / private, sacral / secular - of the paintings.

According to recent research, Rubens is the most well known Flemish master in the entire world. Following Masterpiece: Hieronymus Bosch, Masterpiece: Peter Paul Rubens shows the paintings of this Flemish master as never seen before. With amazing details and full-page images this is an attractively priced pocket-size guide. There is a commentary on the images by Till-Holger Borchert, the director of Musea Brugge.

Russian architect and draughtsman Sergei Tchoban has always striven to understand the laws which govern the development of cities such as his native St Petersburg and the great prototypes in whose image it was created. But is it possible to preserve such cities' outstanding quality today? Can we pursue this quality now, at the current stage of development of architecture? This catalogue poses these central questions. It accompanies an exhibition of Tchoban's work at the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica in Rome, scheduled to take place from October 2020 to January 2021. It also marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Giovanni Battista Piranesi: Tschoban inserts emphatically futuristic structures into the Italian artist's eighteenth-century Roman street scenes. Do such works constitute ruined masterpieces or imprints of the future? Is harmony being destroyed or is a fundamentally new type of harmony being created? Tchoban believes that a similar transformation of the European city has been happening for at least a century and that society must finally work out how to relate to this process. Essentially, Piranesi's true legacy is a call to an honest conversation regarding the layers and parts that constitute the European city as both a highly important piece of our heritage and a space for future development.