Prefaced by a narrative about the <i>cosmographo</i> Christopher Columbus, Christoph ... more Prefaced by a narrative about the <i>cosmographo</i> Christopher Columbus, Christoph Jamnitzer's <i>Neuw Grotteßken Buch</i> (1610) offers an important means to understand how the art of decorative printmaking was construed in terms of contemporary cosmography. By studying the book's grotesque imagery in light of the language of its introductory text, it is possible to think about ornament in its early seventeenth-century author's terms, and to reflect on the genre outside the problems of style and function that have preoccupied scholars since the nineteenth century. Christoph's book provides access to features of a previously overlooked discourse on early modern ornament.
Largely unburdened by the pressures of patronage and designed to supply a growing public demand f... more Largely unburdened by the pressures of patronage and designed to supply a growing public demand for pictures of all sorts, early modern prints have long been recognized as forum for singularly imaginative expression. Even within this circumscribed category of artistic production, ornament prints—encompassing a wide range of printed works that could be used as the basis for decorative projects and that were collected as independent art works in their own right—stand out for embodying some of the medium’s most fanciful statements. Ornament prints are regularly studied for insights into the history of style and design, but they have rarely been examined for their unusual imagery or for what that imagery can tell us about their distinctive brand of fantasy. Focusing on a 1635 print by Isaac Briot after a decorative design by the goldsmith Pierre Delabarre, which shows a Commedia dell’Arte figure carrying a floral motif on his back and a boy aiming bellows at his rear, this essay shows that the creators of ornament prints marshaled ideas about wind and air—often bawdy and scatological—to give expression to what was exceptional about their inventions.
Prefaced by a narrative about the <i>cosmographo</i> Christopher Columbus, Christoph ... more Prefaced by a narrative about the <i>cosmographo</i> Christopher Columbus, Christoph Jamnitzer's <i>Neuw Grotteßken Buch</i> (1610) offers an important means to understand how the art of decorative printmaking was construed in terms of contemporary cosmography. By studying the book's grotesque imagery in light of the language of its introductory text, it is possible to think about ornament in its early seventeenth-century author's terms, and to reflect on the genre outside the problems of style and function that have preoccupied scholars since the nineteenth century. Christoph's book provides access to features of a previously overlooked discourse on early modern ornament.
Largely unburdened by the pressures of patronage and designed to supply a growing public demand f... more Largely unburdened by the pressures of patronage and designed to supply a growing public demand for pictures of all sorts, early modern prints have long been recognized as forum for singularly imaginative expression. Even within this circumscribed category of artistic production, ornament prints—encompassing a wide range of printed works that could be used as the basis for decorative projects and that were collected as independent art works in their own right—stand out for embodying some of the medium’s most fanciful statements. Ornament prints are regularly studied for insights into the history of style and design, but they have rarely been examined for their unusual imagery or for what that imagery can tell us about their distinctive brand of fantasy. Focusing on a 1635 print by Isaac Briot after a decorative design by the goldsmith Pierre Delabarre, which shows a Commedia dell’Arte figure carrying a floral motif on his back and a boy aiming bellows at his rear, this essay shows that the creators of ornament prints marshaled ideas about wind and air—often bawdy and scatological—to give expression to what was exceptional about their inventions.
Making Her Mark: A History of Women Artists in Europe, 1400-1800. Exh cat. Baltimore Museum of Art and Art Gallery of Ontario, 2023
Gathering together nearly 250 objects, including paintings, prints, scientific illustrations, tex... more Gathering together nearly 250 objects, including paintings, prints, scientific illustrations, textiles, sculpture, metalwork and furniture, Making Her Mark illuminates the astonishing diversity and breadth of women's contributions to art of the pre-modern era (c. 1400–1800).
In this important re-examination of early modern European art, an international team of scholars and curators assess the critical concepts that have shaped Western culture’s understanding of what constitutes great art. In its recalibration of gender imbalances, this impressive volume offers an alternative view of the history of European art and sheds light on the collaborative nature of the creation of individual works and the interconnected histories of literature, politics, religion, science, and economics.
Ambitious in its scope, Making Her Mark is a bold corrective to the historical assumption that female artists of the past were rare and that their work was unremarkable. The result is a dynamic introduction to scores of women artists whose names are entirely new and a long-overdue reassessment of the art, culture, and history of early modern Europe.
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Papers by Madeleine Viljoen
In this important re-examination of early modern European art, an international team of scholars and curators assess the critical concepts that have shaped Western culture’s understanding of what constitutes great art. In its recalibration of gender imbalances, this impressive volume offers an alternative view of the history of European art and sheds light on the collaborative nature of the creation of individual works and the interconnected histories of literature, politics, religion, science, and economics.
Ambitious in its scope, Making Her Mark is a bold corrective to the historical assumption that female artists of the past were rare and that their work was unremarkable. The result is a dynamic introduction to scores of women artists whose names are entirely new and a long-overdue reassessment of the art, culture, and history of early modern Europe.