
The Look of the Past
Visual and Material Evidence in Historical Practice
Ludmilla Jordanova(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 27. September 2012
Book
Hardback
264 pages
978-0-521-88242-2 (ISBN)
Description
How can we use visual and material culture to shed light on the past? Ludmilla Jordanova offers a fascinating and thoughtful introduction to the role of images, objects and buildings in the study of past times. Through a combination of thematic chapters and essays on specific artefacts - a building, a piece of sculpture, a photographic exhibition and a painted portrait - she shows how to analyse the agency and visual intelligence of artists, makers and craftsmen and make sense of changes in visual experience over time. Generously illustrated and drawing on numerous examples of images and objects from 1600 to the present, this is an essential guide to the skills that students need in order to describe, analyse and contextualise visual evidence. The Look of the Past will encourage readers to think afresh about how they, like people in the past, see and interpret the world around them.
Reviews / Votes
'Few scholars can match Jordanova's ability to further historical practice through precise analysis, originality and thought-provoking questions, and this pioneering publication is a 'how-to' book in the best possible sense. Beautifully illustrated and offering carefully selected bibliographical advice, The Look of the Past significantly enriches the historians' toolbox and throws out rusty remains. A winner!' Ulinka Rublack, author of Dressing Up: Cultural Identity in Renaissance Europe 'A master historian of visual culture brings the subject to life, shows its importance to understanding any period of history, and offers concise and compelling guidelines for making sense of how it works. The Look of the Past strikes just the right tone in offering an accessible, wondrously wide-ranging, and intellectually satisfying account of visual objects from handbags to Baroque paintings.' Lynn Hunt, University of California, Los Angeles 'A staunchly argued, exceptionally lucid demonstration of the enlightenment, and also pleasure, to be derived from alert, informed, enquiring looking at the myriad artefacts surrounding us. Enlivened by wide-ranging case studies and a provocative choice of illustrations, it is a timely and invaluable resource for students of history and art history alike.' Elizabeth Cowling, University of EdinburghMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
36 Plates, color; 54 Halftones, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 260 mm
Width: 208 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
870 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-88242-2 (9780521882422)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
09/2012
1st Edition
Cambridge University Press
€35.49
Available for download

E-Book
09/2012
Cambridge University Press
€30.49
Available for download

Book
09/2012
Cambridge University Press
€87.20
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Ludmilla Jordanova is Professor of Modern History at King's College London. Her publications include History in Practice, now going into its third edition.
Content
A handbag?; Introduction; 1. Description and evidence; Essay - a 'sumptuous structure': the Wren Library at Trinity College, Cambridge; 2. Craft, skills and visual intelligence; Essay - 'the jewel of the church': Bernini's Ecstasy of St Teresa; 3. Periodisation; Essay - photographing 'the family of man'; 4. Audiences and display; Essay - deposits of friendship: Renoir's 1908 portrait of Ambroise Vollard; 5. Comparative analysis; List of reference works.