East European Art, 1650-1950

Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press; Oxford History of Art Ser.,, 2006. xiii, 258 pages, colour illustrations, maps; 24 cm. Tight, clean copy. "Providing an overview of the key artistic developments and connections in the lands of the Romanov and Habsburg empires, as well as their neighbouring and successor states, this book argues, that an appreciation of East European art should lead us to a fresh definition of 'European' art as a whole." - Publisher. CONTENTS: The Vienna Academy and Its Orbits; The St. Petersburg Academy and Its Orbits; Women Emergent; Women Range; Circling the Square: Questions of Being and Becoming. "The latest addition to the [Oxford History of Art series] is a pioneering overview of the visual cultures of Eastern Europe in the modern age. Here, art historian Jeremy Howard challenges traditional definitions of what constitutes 'European' art and embraces the whole spectrum of art creation, including painting, sculpture, architecture, the applied arts, photography, and performance. Avoiding conventional art historical divisions, Howard focuses on the many hidden relationships between the different art forms and artistic cultures that flourished in the vast region known as Eastern Europe, and how these cultures inter-related with the wider world. In addition to the rise and fall of the two great art academies in Vienna and St. Petersburg, Howard examines the blending of migratory and sedentary cultures in the region, the role of women, and the political manipulation of the image. He brings to the fore many overlooked artists and concentrates on neglected elements of work by better-known figures. Throughout, he reveals how the Habsburg, Romanov, and Ottoman empires vied with one another through art and how individuals and nations strove to maintain and realize their voice through visual language. Bringing light to a woefully neglected subject, Howard has produced a work that will prove essential reading for lovers of art history and Eastern European culture. / Jeremy Howard is a Lecturer in the School of Art History, University of St. Andrews. He has specialized in the art of Eastern Europe since the early 1980s. His work has taken him to the Caucasus, Crimea, Balkans, Russia, and most art centers of central and northern Europe." - Publisher.. Paperback. Fine. 8vo.