James McNeill Whistler and France: A Dialogue in Paint; Poetry; and Music is the first full-length and in-depth study to position this painter within the overall trajectory of French modernism during the second half of the nineteenth century and to view the artist as integral to the aesthetic projects of its most original contributors. Suzanne M. Singletary maintains that Whistler was in a unique situation as an insider within the emerging French avant-garde; thereby in an enviable position to both absorb and transform the innovations of others ndash; and that until now; his widespread influence as a catalyst among his colleagues has been neither investigated nor appreciated. Singletary contends that Whistlerrsquo;s importance rivals that of Manet; whose multi-layered (and often unexpected) interconnections with Whistler are the focus of one chapter. In addition; Whistlerrsquo;s pivotal role in linking the legacies of Baudelaire; Delacroix; Gautier; Wagner; and other mid-century innovators to the later French Symbolists has previously been largely ignored. Courbet; Degas; Monet; and Seurat complete the roster of French artists whose dialogue with Whistler is highlighted.
#837288 in eBooks 2013-10-24 2013-10-24File Name: B01N74Q1I2
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Explaining art world behavior with economic models.By MonsoonKingVelthius does a nice job taking the often curious behavior of art world players and explaining them with standard economic models. Why do dealers price primary market paintings at half their auction value? Why does a culture of favoritism and gift giving trump a transparent market model? How do dealers think about pricing the work of an artist for their first gallery show? Through a serious of interviews. data analyses. and observations. Velthius tackles these questions and many more.The author pays particular attention to the competing worlds of aesthetics and commerce that must uncomfortably coexist in the art world. On the one hand. art world players insist that economic considerations are crass where beauty and scholarship should reign supreme. But at the end of the day. dealers are businesspeople who need to pay rent. support their artists. please collectors. and support themselves.If youre hoping to use this book to price art or predict future prices. youll probably be very disappointed. The book makes some very rudimentary empirical observations that should be obvious to anyone even casually involved in the art world (larger paintings are more expensive than smaller paintings for a given artist). but the author concedes that pricing is too idiosyncratic to hope to build anything approaching a robust pricing model.While this book waxes academic. it should be pretty readable to anyone with a rudimentary background in economics. The art world jargon is kept to relative minimum. If youre looking for a breezy. entertaining read. Id strongly consider The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy Dr G Smithvery thoughtful and stimulating0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. a goodBy yi zhouyes. a good book
