Illuminations
Italian Baroque Masterworks in Canadian Collections
Published on 1. March 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
96 pages
978-1-907804-57-1 (ISBN)
Description
Italian Baroque painting is often discussed in terms of theatre and the creation of powerful visual spectacle through the dramatic use of light. Seventeenth-century painters pushed the limits of artistic expression to reshape the relationship between the illusionistic image and its audience with contrasting styles, new techniques, and by deploying extraordinary optical effects. Featuring some of Canada's foremost Baroque paintings, "Illuminations" examines how the functional and symbolic representation of light was the expression of a culture captivated by theatrical display. Set in the context of Italy's dynamic and international cultural capitals, "Illuminations" compares and contrasts religious, mythological, and popular imagery. Through a detailed examination of works by Nicolas Poussain, Luca Giordano, Orazio Gentileschi and Guido Reni amongst others, the book explores how 17th-century audiences were confronted with pictures that frequently broke conventions by manipulating the sources and meaning of light, while depicting all types of subjects; painters were able to transform light, controlling its role as a signifier of demeanour, emotion, or religious symbolism.
The use of light coloured the historical legends and social mythologies of this extravagant world.
The use of light coloured the historical legends and social mythologies of this extravagant world.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
66 colour
Dimensions
Height: 178 mm
Width: 180 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
295 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-907804-57-1 (9781907804571)
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
Person
Benedict Leca is director of Curatorial Affairs, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Devin Therien is Guest Curator, Art Gallery of Hamilton
C.D. Dickerson is curator of European Art at the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX
Lloyd DeWitt is curator of European Art, Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada
Content
Director's Foreword
Acknowledgements
The Plates
Each with a tombstone caption, each presented on a 2-page spread:
Plate 1. Luca Giordano, Massacre of the Children of Niobe, c. 1685, (175 x 259cm) AGH.
Plate 2. Luca Giordano, Suicide of Cato, c. 1660, (97 x 127cm) AGH. 1
Plate 3. Simon Vouet, The Gypsy Fortune Teller, 1620, (120 x 170.2cm ) NGC.
Plate 4. Mattia Preti, St. Paul the Hermit, c. 1656, (233.7 x 180.7cm) AGO.
Plate 5. Giovanni Battista Langetti, Isaac Blessing Jacob, date unknown
50 × 663/4 in. (127 × 169.5 cm), AGO.
Plate 6. Luca Giordano, Astronomy, c. 1653-54 or 1680-92?, (127.4 × 99.5 cm)
AGO
Plate 7. Nicolas Poussin, Venus, Mother of Aeneas, Presenting Him with Arms Forged by Vulcan,c. 1636-37,(108 × 134.6 cm), AGO
Plate 8. Giacinto Brandi, The Weeping Heraclitus, c. 1690, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, (AEAC) Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
Plate 9. Ciro Ferri, Joseph Turning Away from Potiphar's Wife, c. 1675
Oil on canvas, (75.6 × 104.1 cm), AEAC
Plate. 10. Andrea Lanzani, The Blind Belisarius, c. 1680, (115 x 160 cm) AEAC.
Plate. 11. Matthias Stom, Christ and the Women in Adultery, c. 1632, (101.6 x 137.2 cm) MMFA.
Plate. 12. Jusepe Ribera, St. Joseph, c. 1635 (62 x 72cm) MMFA.
Introduction by Benedict Leca
Light and Shadow in Italian Baroque painting, by Devin Therien
Bernini, Canada, and Light , by C.D. Dickerson, Kimbell Art Museum
From Italy to Holland: Caravaggio's Darkness and Light Come North, by Lloyd DeWitt, Art Gallery of Ontario
Collecting Italian Baroque Painting in Canada, by D. Therien
Selected Bibliography
Appendix
Index
Acknowledgements
The Plates
Each with a tombstone caption, each presented on a 2-page spread:
Plate 1. Luca Giordano, Massacre of the Children of Niobe, c. 1685, (175 x 259cm) AGH.
Plate 2. Luca Giordano, Suicide of Cato, c. 1660, (97 x 127cm) AGH. 1
Plate 3. Simon Vouet, The Gypsy Fortune Teller, 1620, (120 x 170.2cm ) NGC.
Plate 4. Mattia Preti, St. Paul the Hermit, c. 1656, (233.7 x 180.7cm) AGO.
Plate 5. Giovanni Battista Langetti, Isaac Blessing Jacob, date unknown
50 × 663/4 in. (127 × 169.5 cm), AGO.
Plate 6. Luca Giordano, Astronomy, c. 1653-54 or 1680-92?, (127.4 × 99.5 cm)
AGO
Plate 7. Nicolas Poussin, Venus, Mother of Aeneas, Presenting Him with Arms Forged by Vulcan,c. 1636-37,(108 × 134.6 cm), AGO
Plate 8. Giacinto Brandi, The Weeping Heraclitus, c. 1690, Agnes Etherington Art Centre, (AEAC) Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
Plate 9. Ciro Ferri, Joseph Turning Away from Potiphar's Wife, c. 1675
Oil on canvas, (75.6 × 104.1 cm), AEAC
Plate. 10. Andrea Lanzani, The Blind Belisarius, c. 1680, (115 x 160 cm) AEAC.
Plate. 11. Matthias Stom, Christ and the Women in Adultery, c. 1632, (101.6 x 137.2 cm) MMFA.
Plate. 12. Jusepe Ribera, St. Joseph, c. 1635 (62 x 72cm) MMFA.
Introduction by Benedict Leca
Light and Shadow in Italian Baroque painting, by Devin Therien
Bernini, Canada, and Light , by C.D. Dickerson, Kimbell Art Museum
From Italy to Holland: Caravaggio's Darkness and Light Come North, by Lloyd DeWitt, Art Gallery of Ontario
Collecting Italian Baroque Painting in Canada, by D. Therien
Selected Bibliography
Appendix
Index