Overview

Relics, dreams, voyages is a closely focused sequence of studies of worldwide connections in all the arts in the baroque period. Drawing on original research in libraries, collections, and archives in five countries, and in as many languages, this book draws many astonishing, unfamiliar and beautiful texts, things and events, into a cartography of the secret and strange patterns of baroque cultures worldwide. The visual arts are examined across a wide temporal and geographical span, and many subversive iconographies are decoded: at the French and English courts, in remote Scotland, in Nagasaki, in Valladolid. This books offers a new, extraordinary cultural geography of the baroque world, opening doors to many rich and strange cultural artefacts, from 'China to Peru.'

Full Product Details

Author:   Peter Davidson
Publisher:   Manchester University Press
Imprint:   Manchester University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.70cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.451kg
ISBN:  

9781526195548

ISBN 10:   1526195542
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   20 January 2026
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available, will be POD  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon it's release. This is a print on demand item which is still yet to be released.

Table of Contents

Prologue: The Gestures of the Skeletons, reticulations of the baroque world Part I: Centres and peripheries 1 James Fraser: experiencing the arts of Italy in the mid seventeenth century 2 The Jesuits and the languages of Britain: the case of Robert Corbie SJ 3 Gentileschi and the ancestors 4 Pope’s recusancy 5 Mr Gibbon’s shadow, or ‘the parent of the arts’ Part II: Materialities 6 The solemnity of the Madonna Vulnerata, Valladolid, 1600 7 Opposing Elizabeth 8 Relics and memorials of Mary Stuart in the Low Countries 9 Viper wine 10 The Assassin’s new Castles: frescoes and textiles for the Leslies at Nové Mesto nad Metují and Ptui 11 A Jesuit reliquary Crucifix from Japan 12 The Jesuit Garden Part III: Designs of the imagination 13 The dream of Raphael 14 Alexander Seton, his house, his library, his world 15 Paper gardens 16 Imaginary Baroque cities: the Chearnley circle and the Earl of Mar 17 Artificial Islands Afterword Bibliography Index -- .

Reviews

‘Davidson is one of the most diversely learned scholars writing today. His global scholarship connects exiles and visionaries across continents, centuries, languages and religions. To read is to explore unfamiliar libraries and secret gardens. With astonishing erudition and warm sympathy, Davidson reveals submerged codes and contexts that have kept major works half hidden. Exceptionally lucid on matters of great complexity, these essays gleam among the shadows of dangerous and defiant arts.’ —Prof Alexandra Harris, author of Weatherland, The Rising Down ‘A truly fascinating book. There can be few scholars in the world capable of leading us on such an extraordinary journey through Baroque art, religion and culture from Aberdeen to the Andes, taking in an Italian garden, a Slovak castle and a Japanese crucifix along the way.’ —Sir Noel Malcolm, All Souls College, Oxford ‘The fine threads and variegated colors of this bright tapestry of case studies combine in considerable luxury to make a resounding case for a universal “Catholic Baroque” that encompassed centuries and crossed the ocean seas.’ —Earle Havens, Director of the Stern Center for the History of the Book, Johns Hopkins University -- .

Author Information

Peter Davidson is Senior Research Fellow of Campion Hall, University of Oxford

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