Overview

Worley's book brings a new perspective on the intellectual debates in the development of nationalistic movements leading up to the Risorgimento in Italy. Her study reveals how the efforts of key feminine ideologists established the roots of Italian reunification through artistic patronage. The salons of these important women enabled daring artists to walk that fine line between creativity and treason as they politicized their art. In the search for nationalist symbols, members of Louise Stolberg's Florentine salon looked back to national histories and literature. The histories of the Italian Renaissance and Ancient Rome were emphasized as they contained the nascent germs of republicanism and democracy. The politicization of art and literature was thus implicit in the worship of the cult of liberty and freedom. Romantic impulses toward creativity and freedom were also translated into national egalitarian impulses toward unity and democracy. Stolberg directly patronized Italy's greatest authors and artists of the Napoleonic Wars who espoused a revolutionary rhetoric including, Vittorio Alfieri, Ugo Foscolo, Francois-Xavier Fabre and Antonio Canova.

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9780773442450

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Reviews

"""Worley's expert handling of both literary and artistic materials relevant to Stolberg's circle, in relation to aesthetic movements and political strife and the connections she weaves throughout vividly capture, from a gendered perspective, changing trends and dynamics in that period, indicating new perspectives on traditional knowledge."" (Professor Nancy Isenberg, Department of Foreign Languages, Literature and Culture, Faculty of Letters and Philosophy, Universita degli Studi Roma Tre, Rome, Italy) ""This is an important study of interactions between Madame de Stael and Louise Stolberg and their coterie of friends. To my knowledge, no such published work exists yet. Dr. Worley has done an excellent analysis of the contribution of Enlightenment writers to nationalism and romanticism. This is a must read for the scholars who are interested in the intellectual foundation of the study of nationalism, especially in Europe."" (Dr. Nupur Chaudhuri, Professor, Department of History & Geography, Texas Southern University)"

Worley's expert handling of both literary and artistic materials relevant to Stolberg's circle, in relation to aesthetic movements and political strife and the connections she weaves throughout vividly capture, from a gendered perspective, changing trends and dynamics in that period, indicating new perspectives on traditional knowledge. (Professor Nancy Isenberg, Department of Foreign Languages, Literature and Culture, Faculty of Letters and Philosophy, Universita degli Studi Roma Tre, Rome, Italy) This is an important study of interactions between Madame de Stael and Louise Stolberg and their coterie of friends. To my knowledge, no such published work exists yet. Dr. Worley has done an excellent analysis of the contribution of Enlightenment writers to nationalism and romanticism. This is a must read for the scholars who are interested in the intellectual foundation of the study of nationalism, especially in Europe. (Dr. Nupur Chaudhuri, Professor, Department of History & Geography, Texas Southern University)

Author Information

Dr. Sharon Worley received her Ph.D. in Humanities from the University of Texas at Dallas. She is an adjunct professor who teaches at area colleges in Houston, Texas including the University of Houston, the University of Phoenix and Houston Community College. She is the author of numerous publications on art history, literature and culture.

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