Famous Works of Art-And How They Got That Way (eBook)

John Nici (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2015
336 Seiten
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (Verlag)
978-1-4422-4955-4 (ISBN)

Infos

There are many reasons why works of art become famous; few have anything to do with quality. Art museums are filled with masterworks that are unknown to the general public. This book raises questions about how fame is achieved, and ultimately how a work either retains that fame, or passes from the public consciousness.

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In a world filled with great museums and great paintings, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is the reigning queen. Her portrait rules over a carefully designed salon, one that was made especially for her in a museum that may seem intended for no other purpose than to showcase her virtues. What has made this portrait so renowned, commanding such adoration? And what of other works of art that continue to enthrall spectators: What makes the Great Sphinx so great? Why do iterations of The Scream and American Gothic permeate nearly all aspects of popular culture? Is it because of the mastery of the artists who created them? Or can something else account for their popularity? In Famous Works of ArtAnd How They Got That Way, John B. Nici looks at twenty well-known paintings, sculptures, and photographs that have left lasting impressions on the general public. As Nici notes, there are many reasons why works of art become famous; few have anything to do with quality. The author explains why the reputations of some creations have grown over the years, some disproportionate to their artistic value. Written in a style that is both entertaining and informative, this book explains how fame is achieved, and ultimately how a work either retains that fame, or passes from the public consciousness.From ancient artifacts to a can of soup, this book raises the question: Did the talent to promote and publicize a work exceed the skills employed to create that object of worship? Or are some masterpieces truly worth the admiration they receive? The creations covered in this book include the Tomb of Tutankhamun, Botticelli's Birth of Venus, Raphael's Sistine Madonna, El Greco's The Burial of Count Orgaz, Rodin's The Thinker, Van Gogh's Starry Night, and Picasso's Guernica. Featuring more than sixty images, including color reproductions, Famous Works of ArtAnd How They Got That Way will appeal to anyone who has ever wondered if a great painting, sculpture, or photograph, really deserves to be called ';great.'

Autor

John Nici is a professor of art history at Queens College in Flushing, New York.

Inhalt

Acknowledgments Foreword by Dennis GeronimusIntroductionChapter 1 The Great Sphinx: Beyond Human UnderstandingChapter 2 Tomb of Tutankhamen: Politics, Ethnic Pride, Hornets, a Dead Canary, and a Curse Chapter 3 The Parthenon Sculptures: Lord Elgin and How Greece Lost Its MarblesChapter 4 The Apollo Belvedere: The Rise and Fall of The Apollo BelvedereChapter 5 Nike of Samothrace: The Victory of the StaircaseChapter 6 Birth of Venus by Botticelli: Nothing Is Forever, Not Even NeglectChapter 7 Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci: You Never Know What a Smile Can DoChapter 8 Sistine Madonna by Raphael: The Most Perfect Picture in the WorldChapter 9 The Burial of Count Orgaz by El Greco: A Touch of Madness Goes a Long WayChapter 10 Aristotle Contemplating a Bust of Homer by Rembrandt: Fame Available for a PriceChapter 11 Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze: Or Perhaps, Washington Crossing the RhineChapter 12 Luncheon on the Grass by Edouard Manet: Success through ScandalChapter 13 The Thinker by Auguste Rodin: Fame Has Its ConsequencesChapter 14 Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh: Lost in a Starry NightChapter 15 The Scream by Edvard Munch: Scream, IndeedChapter 16 American Gothic by Grant Wood: All-American GothicChapter 17 Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange: The Power of the PressChapter 18 Guernica by Pablo Picasso: Travels with GuernicaChapter 19 Andy Warhol, Campbell’s Soup: Mmm Mmm GoodChapter 20 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial by Maya Lin: The Triumph of AbstractionIndexAbout the Author

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 17.9.2015
• Vorwort: Dennis Geronimus
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Kunstgeschichte / Kunststile
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Hilfswissenschaften
• Schlagworte: Architecture • Art History • Art Institute of Chicago • British Museum • Galleria degli Uffizi • Louvre • Metropolitan Museum of Art • MFA • Muse d'Orsay • Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia • Museo Nacional Cetro de Arte Reina Sofia • Museum of Modern Art • Museum Studies • National Gallery • painting • photography • sculpture • Toledo
• ISBN-10: 1-4422-4955-2 / 1442249552
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4422-4955-4 / 9781442249554