Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Schools & Masters of Painting


Radcliffe, A. G. Schools and Masters of Painting: With an Appendix on the Principal Galleries of Europe. Illustrated. New Edition. (New York: D. Appleton, 1885).



I first saw a copy of this book in the Mount Washington Valley Arts Association's library and totally fell in love with the engravings. Fortunately, I was able to locate a copy of my own. It came complete with a number of four-leaf clovers pressed between the pages.


And a previous owner preserved a newspaper clipping (titled Valuable Works of Art) reading, in part:
Paris and London are agitated over some paintings which in absolute value surpass any collections heretofore brought together. The first city boasts the possession of a Meissonier, who being still in the flesh has lived to see a price put upon his works never attained until death and age have joined to give the seal of greatness. . .The London collection is in the possession of the Duke of Marlborough, and he wishes to dispose of them to the nation.
The classified advertisements on the reverse are interesting as well:

The first mention of art in America occurs in chapter 18--Painting in the nineteenth century. Included are Allston, Stuart, Leutze and Huntington, sections on American portrait-painters, genre and figure painters, the landscapists Church, Bierstadt, Kensett and Cole, plus a special mention of Bradford's icebergs and Catlin's Indian pictures. The art world in 1885 centered around Florence, Rome, Venice, Madrid, The Louvre, London, Dresden, Munich and Berlin.

There are 566 pages of text followed by a 9-page Index of Artists. Also included are six pages of publisher's advertisements, the first quoting a review from the New York Tribune for Radcliffe's work:
The volume is one of great practical utility, and may be used to advantage as an artistic guide-book by persons visiting the collections of Italy, France, and Germany for the first time. The twelve great pictures of the world, which are familiar by copies and engravings to all who have the slightest tincture of taste [I love that one--'tincture of taste' !] for art, are described in a special chapter, which affords a convenient stepping stone to a just appreciation of the most celebrated masterpieces of painting.

There are eight copies, in various editions, of Alida Graveraet Radcliffe's book listed in the Internet Archive if you wish to explore further.






1 comment:

  1. Anita, as I have said many, many times your work is of the HIGHEST CALIBRE and is an INSPIRATION to us all. What fantastic artwork and perceptive comments. This Blog is amazing.

    Doug Ashcroft

    ReplyDelete

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