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Books > Arts & Architecture > Art forms, treatments & subjects > Art treatments & subjects > Iconography, subjects depicted in art > Human figures depicted in art > Portraits in art
A poignant look into the psychological depths of the human mind-its
possibilities and fragility. This is the impressive and sensitive
legacy of the painter David Byrd. The artist joined the army during
World War II and later worked as an orderly in the psychiatric ward
of a Veterans hospital in Upstate New York. From 1958 to 1988,
Byrd's keen observation of this world, filled with the crowded
histories of its troubled patients, was recorded in the artist's
sketchbook. This publication is a replica of the deeply personal,
creative, and revelationary journal examining the human experience
and its potential for pain and alienation on the fringe. Byrd's
work was not publicly exhibited until 2013, only a few months
before his death-an omission that seems absurd in the face of such
a powerful output of artwork expressing the artist's perspective as
a veteran himself and his empathy toward those living with
psychological trauma.
Moving with the Magdalen is the first art-historical book dedicated
to the cult of Mary Magdalen in the late medieval Alps. Its seven
case study chapters focus on the artworks commissioned for key
churches that belonged to both parish and pilgrimage networks in
order to explore the role of artistic workshops, commissioning
patrons and diverse devotees in the development and transfer of the
saint's iconography across the mountain range. Together they
underscore how the Magdalen's cult and contingent imagery
interacted with the environmental conditions and landscape of the
Alps along late medieval routes.
Major General Sir Isaac Brock is remembered as the Hero of Upper
Canada for his defence of what is now Ontario during the War of
1812, and also for his noble death at the Battle of Queenston
Heights. In the more than two centuries since then, Brock's
likeness has been lost in a confusing array of portraits-most of
which are misidentified or conceptual. The 1824 monument
constructed to honour Brock's sacrifice was destroyed in 1840 by
Benjamin Lett, a disgruntled disciple of William Lyon Mackenzie and
critic of the Upper Canadian elite. The replacement and subsequent
commemorations emphasized a patriotic desire to visualize the
hero's appearance. But despite uncovering an authentic portrait
painted only a few years before Brock's death, a series of false
faces were promoted to serve competing claims and agendas. St-Denis
situates Brock's portraits within an emerging English Canadian
imperial nationalism that sought a heroic past which reflected
their own aspirations and ambitions. A work of detailed scholarship
and a fascinating detective story, The True Face of Sir Isaac Brock
details the sometimes petty world of self-proclaimed guardians of
the past, the complex process of identification and
misidentification that often occurs even at esteemed Canadian
institutions, and St-Denis' own meticulous work as he separates
fact from fiction to finally reveal Brock's true face.
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