Horace Vernet and the Thresholds of Nineteenth-Century Visual Culture
9781512600421
9781512600438
Distributed for Dartmouth College Press
Horace Vernet and the Thresholds of Nineteenth-Century Visual Culture
This collection reconsiders the life and work of Emile Jean-Horace Vernet (1789–1863), presenting him as a crucial figure for understanding the visual culture of modernity. The book includes work by senior and emerging scholars, showing that Vernet was a multifaceted artist who moved with ease across the thresholds of genre and media to cultivate an image of himself as the embodiment of modern France. In tune with his times, skilled at using modern technologies of visual reproduction to advance his reputation, Vernet appealed to patrons from across the political spectrum and made works that nineteenth-century audiences adored. Even Baudelaire, who reviled Vernet and his art and whose judgment has played a significant role in consigning Vernet to art-historical obscurity, acknowledged that the artist was the most complete representative of his age. For those with an interest in the intersection of art and modern media, politics, imperialism, and fashion, the essays in this volume offer a rich reward.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations • Acknowledgments • Chronology • Introduction—Daniel Harkett and Katie Hornstein • MAKING VERNET • The Conquest of Public Opinion, 1812–1824—Marie-Claude Chaudonneret • Revisiting Horace Vernet’s Studio Exhibition—Daniel Harkett • Horace Vernet in the Public Imagination—Rachel Esner • Horace Vernet and the Conquest of Algeria through Images—Nicolas Schaub • Writing History: Horace Vernet’s Oeuvre under the Second Empire—Julia Thoma • VERNET AND GENRE • Vernet’s Ladies: The Romantic Portrait Image—Susan L. Siegfried • Bad Manners vs. Good Maniera: Horace Vernet’s Raphael at the Vatican—Allan Doyle • Deranged and Virtuous Widowhood: Horace Vernet’s Woman Driven Insane by Love and Edith Recovering Harold’s Body after the Battle of Hastings—Simon Lee • Illustrious Heritage: Vernet Painting Vernet—Melanie Vandenbrouck • VERNET AND NEW MEDIA • Horace Vernet and the Problem of Facilité—Katie Hornstein • Truth and Lies: Vernet, Vaudeville, and Photography—Nina Athanassoglou-Kallmyer • Horace Vernet and Paul Delaroche: Media Old and New—Stephen Bann • A View from Germany: Vernet, New Media, and the Remaking of History Painting—Andrea Meyer • Select Bibliography • Contributors • Index