Product Description

The Modern Portrait in Nineteenth-Century France examines the evolution of portraiture after the advent of photography. Heather McPherson focuses on the portrait as a contested site of representation and the diverse strategies that artists deployed to revitalize the portrait during the second half of the nineteenth century, when the genre was threatened with obsolescence by the ubiquitous photographic image. By considering portraiture within the broader cultural matrix of history, biography, artistic and literary crosscurrents, and shifts in the production and consumption of images, McPherson deftly situates the modern portrait at the epicenter of nineteenth-century visual culture.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2471709 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 308 pages

Review
"Though the book is detailed and specifically illustrated throughout, McPherson does not lose sight of the changing functions of portraiture within the broader history of the genre." Burlington Magazine

"[McPherson's] focus on the history of portraiture has produced a body of essays, exhibitions, and this monograph, exceptional in quality and filling a major void in the scholarship on portraiture in general and modern portraiture in particular." Southeastern College Art Conference Award Citation

"The interdisciplinary nature of McPherson's undertaking strengthens her underlying thesis that art, literature, biography and portraiture were intertwined in nieteenth-century French culture. [...] Insightful and original." Nineteenth Century Studies

"The idea that the portrait photograph and the painted portrait are closely related in firming their identity is a brilliant layout for McPherson's research." Art History

"McPherson explores the interplay of painting and photography and the cultural and social complexities of the portrait." Farm and Dairy

"McPherson's book sets forth a provocative analysis of portiaiture in a succession of quite diverse essays that include discussions of photography, painting, posters, the rise of modern theather, the role of women, the impact of technology and the relationship between writers, critics and artists." Birmingham, AL Post-Herald Nov 2001

Customer Reviews

ABOUT FACE
Changing the perceptions of the painted portrait as a social, artistic and intellectual document, THE MODERN PORTRAIT IN 19TH CENTURY FRANCE is a fascinating and compelling read for both the avid art historian and the novice to the subject. While addressing the importance and impact photography had on re-evaluating the issues of representation and the translation of figurative ideology and assumptions in portraiture, McPherson maintains a succinct style which concisely synthesizes historical context and argument with contemporary proposal and re-assessment.

Astute observations and comparisons are accessible, tangible and give insight and depth to the evolution of this genre of painting and its modification in response to the recourse of changing technology. Six case studies present artists, public personas and writers in a cross-referential consideration of major influences shaping the revision of aesthetic standards to include the dichotomy of the specificity of image and visage with the universality of shared emotion and experience.

The discussion broadens the complex relationships between identity and culture and well-evinced scholarship and satisfying reasoning make the book contemplative and engaging.