Pastiche; Fashion and Galanterie in Chardinrsquo;s Genre Subjects seeks to understand how Chardinrsquo;s genre subjects were composed and constructed to communicate certain things to the elites of Paris in the 1730s and 1740s. This book argues against the conventional view of Chardin as the transparent imitator of bourgeois life and values so ingrained in art history since the nineteenth century. Instead; it makes the case that these pictures were crafted to demonstrate the artistrsquo;s wit (esprit) and taste; traits linked to conventions of seventeenth-century galanterie. Early eighteenth-century Moderns like Jean-Simeacute;on Chardin (1699ndash;1779) embraced an aesthetic grounded upon a notion of beauty that could not be put into wordsmdash;the je ne sais quoi. Despite its vagueness; this model of beauty was drawn from the present; departed from standards of formal beauty; and could only be known through the critical exercise of taste. Though selecting subjects from the present appears to be a simple matter; it was complicated by the fact that the modernizers expressed themselves through the vehicles of older; established forms. In Chardinrsquo;s case; he usually adapted the forms of seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish genre painting in his genre subjects. This gambit required an audience familiar enough with the conventions of Lowlands art to grasp the play involved in a knowing imitation; or pastiche. Chardinrsquo;s first group of enthusiasts accordingly were collectors who bought works of living French artists as well as Dutch and Flemish masters from the previous century; notably aristocratic connoisseurs like the chevalier Antoine de la Roque and Count Carl-Gustaf Tessin.
2013-12-06 2013-12-06File Name: B00H59RE2Q
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A Great Survey by a Student of the Lake and its LoreBy Rep. Phil EnglishDave Frew provides a labor of love : a detailed history of the lore of central Lake Erie and some of the personalities that created it and kept it alive. Frew shares an intimate understanding the history of Great Lakes shipping; fishing and war; and the underwater relics of those experiences. The sheer volume of shipwrecks in the region; which Frew has carefully documented; makes this a worthwhile focus for serious students and armchair sailors alike. As someone who grew up on Lake Erie and spent his formative years poking around the sleepy shoreline of both sides of the lake; I enjoyed Frews lore; yarns; research and speculation to make a fine read.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy SherryEnjoyed0 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Two StarsBy Swampy2 star
