Masters of Light: Dutch Painters in Utrecht During the Golden Age.Joaneath Spicer, ed., Masters of Light: Dutch Painters This is a list of painters who were born and/or were primarily active in the Netherlands. For artists born and active in the Southern Netherlands, see the List of Flemish painters. The artists are sorted by century and then alphabetically by last name. in Utrecht During the Golden Age New Haven New Haven, city (1990 pop. 130,474), New Haven co., S Conn., a port of entry where the Quinnipiac and other small rivers enter Long Island Sound; inc. 1784. Firearms and ammunition, clocks and watches, tools, rubber and paper products, and textiles are among the many and London: Yale University Yale University, at New Haven, Conn.; coeducational. Chartered as a collegiate school for men in 1701 largely as a result of the efforts of James Pierpont, it opened at Killingworth (now Clinton) in 1702, moved (1707) to Saybrook (now Old Saybrook), and in 1716 was Press for the Walters Art Gallery and the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , 1998. 206 b/w + 90 color pls. + 48O pp. $75. ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m : 0-300-0339-9. The book Masters of Light accompanied an exhibition of the same name shown during 1997-1998. As an overview of and introduction to the important, but much neglected, study of painting in Utrecht, this catalogue succeeds in providing a wealth of valuable and excellent scholarship for both the novice and expert in studies of Dutch art Dutch art, the art of the region that is now the Netherlands. As a distinct national style, this art dates from about the turn of the 17th cent., when the country emerged as a political entity and developed a clearly independent culture. . The first section of the text is comprised of eight essays introducing a variety of topics dealing with socio-cultural conditions in Utrecht, as well as with its art production. Joaneath Spicer provides an introduction including a brief chronology of painting in Utrecht; but she primarily presents the five thematic categories employed in the organization of the catalogue of the exhibition, the second portion of the book. Jan de Vries's essay provides an excellent historical introduction to the city of Utrecht from an economic perspective that is enlightening for later references in the text to both class structure and art patronage. Marten marten, name for carnivorous, largely arboreal mammals (genus Martes) of the weasel family, widely distributed in North America, Europe, and central Asia. Martens are larger, heavier-bodied animals than weasels, with thick fur and bushy tails. Jan Bok's exceptional essay on the general art community in Utrecht will likely be the most useful for future scholarship in the field. His important conclusions regarding the institution of successful art business practices in Utrecht as a vital component of artistic decision-making are crucial to our understanding of both the style and subject matter of these works. The second portion of the book contains the catalogue of the exhibition and a collection of artists' biographies. The thematic categories employed in the organization of the catalogue are Body and Spirit: The Impact of the Counter-Reformation; The Wisely Led Life; Pleasures and Duties: Contemporary Life; Noble Ideals: Arcadian and Mythological Imagery; Fantasies of Arcadia and Eden: Landscapes of the Imagination; and Artifice ar·ti·fice n. 1. An artful or crafty expedient; a stratagem. See Synonyms at wile. 2. Subtle but base deception; trickery. 3. Cleverness or skill; ingenuity. and Reality: The "Still" Life. Most of the catalogue entries, written by ten different scholars, are devoted to history painting with much less attention to portrait, landscape, and still-life painting still-life painting Depiction of inanimate objects for the sake of their qualities of form, colour, texture, composition, and sometimes allegorical or symbolical significance. Still lifes were painted in ancient Greece and Rome. . The biographies, also written by Marten Jan Bok, are helpful for readers first being introduced to Utrecht painting, since a single artist may be discussed in different sections of the catalogue. While this book is admirable in many respects, it also has certain problems. Some of these are minor and relate to necessary decisions regarding selection. Choosing to emphasize subject matter rather than style, for example, means that it is difficult to follow stylistic developments in the art community generally, but also within the oeuvres of specific artists. In addition, the sparse treatment of some subject categories, but also the complete omission of certain popular genre and allegorical topoi to·poi n. Plural of topos. may make readers question why the organizers did nor limit the discussion to history painting alone. Similarly, the emphasis given to international influences -- Caravaggio, Manfredi, Raphael, Spranger, the Carracci, Claude Lorrain Claude Lorrain (klōd lôrăN`), whose original name was Claude Gelée or Gellée (zhəlā`) -- means that discussions of Netherlandish tradition are sometimes neglected or ignored. More problematic, however, is the absence of an introduction to the entire text. There is a distinct need for this type of essay in the book due to the large number (seventeen) of contributors. In particular an introductory discussion of the essays is needed, because they stand out as rather abrupt and unrelated contributions to the text generally. They could have been much more helpftd to the reader had they been linked to the overall themes and purposes of the exhibition catalogue. An introduction would have also been an opportune place to include a theoretical perspective to the text. The novice to studies on Dutch painting, for example, will not understand why certain flower still-lifes, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the catalogue, were imbued with a great deal of symbolic import, while others were only appreciated for their beauty. Even if the reader had been informed that the readings of these images had been influenced by a postmodernist perception regarding the relativity of viewer context, this would have been a hel pful foundation for understanding the variability of the readings. Finally, a summarization was needed regarding the purposes and patronage of these paintings in connection with the Important factors of class, religion, gender, etc. Such general conclusions drawn from this mass of scholarship would have provided an important position for further debate and discussion in the field. |
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