Overview

An interdisciplinary examination of nineteenth-century French art pertaining to religion, exile, and the nation’s demise as a world power, this study concerns the consequences for visual culture of a series of national crises—from the assault on Catholicism and the flight of émigrés during the Revolution of 1789, to the collapse of the Empire and the dashing of hope raised by the Revolution of 1830. The central claim is that imaginative response to these politically charged experiences of loss constitutes a major shaping force in French Romantic art, and that pursuit of this theme in light of parallel developments in literature and political debate reveals a pattern of disenchantment transmuted into cultural capital. Focusing on imagery that spoke to loss through visual and verbal idioms particular to France in the aftermath of the Revolution and Empire, the book illuminates canonical works by major figures such as Eugène Delacroix, Théodore Chassériau, and Camille Corot, as well as long-forgotten images freighted with significance for nineteenth-century viewers. A study in national bereavement—an urgent theme in the present moment—the book provides a new lens through which to view the coincidence of imagination and strife at the heart of French Romanticism. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, French literature, French history, French politics, and religious studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

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9781032027043

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Reviews

For experts, the book provides a refreshingly original synthesis from an important perspective. At the same time, individual chapters are very accessible and could serve as excellent readings in undergraduate classes, particularly because they introduce not just important paintings, but also key historical events and literary works. Classes in history or literature might also use it to place historical events or literary works in a broader context. Irrespective, however, of how the book enters into curricula, it will long serve as an essential introduction to the period for serious students of French art, literature, culture, and history. --David O'Brien, Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide

Author Information

Jonathan P. Ribner is Associate Professor in the Department of History of Art & Architecture at Boston University.

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