This fascinating new addition to the acclaimed Oxford History of Art series explores the world of portraiture from a number of vantage points, and asks key questions about its nature. How has portraiture changed over the centuries? How have portraits represented their subjects, and how have they been interpreted? The book provides a clear, yet thorough overview of the history of portraiture in terms of social, political, economic, and psychological factors over a broad time span. Issues such as identity, modernity, and gender are considered within their cultural and historical contexts. Shearer West uncovers intriguing aspects of portraiture-a genre that has often been seen as purely representational, featuring examples from African tribes to Renaissance princes, and from "stars" such as David and Victoria Beckham to everyday people. West examines the many meanings and uses of portraits throughout the ages and includes a wide range of artists from Botticelli to Picasso, and Hans Holbein to Frida Kahlo. In the process, she reveals the faces of the past in an exciting new way. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this book is a unique and accessible introduction to the history of portraiture.

Portraiture (Oxford History of Art)

Arts & Photography

West, Shearer

History & Criticism

Oxford University Press

Written by scholars at the forefront of new thinking, many of whom are rising stars in their fields, the Oxford History of Art series offers substantial and innovative texts that clarify, illuminate, and debate the critical issues at the heart of art history today. Providing a fresh new look at art that moves away from traditional elitist approaches, the series makes use of new research and methodologies, a well as newly accessible and non-canonical works to offer comprehensive coverage of the art world. Lavishly illustrated and superbly designed, the Oxford History of Art brings new substance and verve to the exciting and ubiquitous world of art. This new set contains five volumes that touch on many artistic views throughout history and the different ways in which extraordinary mediums and subjects have captured the interest and imaginations of artists and art-lovers alike. Includes, Beauty & Art, Fashion, Eroticism & Art, Portraiture and The Photograph.

Oxford History of Art: Artistic Views (5 Volume Set)

Clarke, Graham

Breward, Christopher

Mahon, Alyce

Prettejohn, Elizabeth

Oxford University Press, USA

The Image of the Actor: Verbal and Visual Representation in the Age of Garrick and Kemble

This scholarly synthesis questions the literal acceptance of evidence by theater historians in their interpretations of eighteenth-century theatrical portraits, criticism, biography, and theory.

Performing Arts

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

Women first appeared on the legitimate stage in England following the Restoration in 1660, heralding a major change in British theater. The First Actresses: From Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons explores the vibrant and sometimes controversial relationship between art, gender, and the English theater in the 18th century. The richly illustrated book combines both well-known and seldom-seen portraits with fascinating essays that explore the ways that actresses used portraiture to enhance their reputations, deflect scandal, and increase their popularity and professional status. The featured works include paintings by major artists such as Johann Zoffany, Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, and Thomas Lawrence. Created to accompany the National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition of the same name, The First Actresses provides a vivid spectacle of femininity, fashion, and theatricality from Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons, during a period when portraiture became an important vehicle for the expression of concerns about female sexuality, social status, decorum, gender, and celebrity. The authors also chart the commercialization of the spectacle of the actress, as well as the connections between the 18th-century “star system” and modern celebrity culture.

The First Actresses: From Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons

Roach, Joseph

Perry, Gill

Humor & Entertainment

University of Michigan Press

Fin de Siecle

History

BLOOMSBURY

The Visual Arts in Germany, 1890-1937: Utopia and Despair

Shearer West introduces the visual arts in Germany from the early years of German unification until the beginning of the Second World War. Germany during this period was the site of key movements, including Secessionism, Die Brucke, Der Blaue Reiter, Expressionism, Bauhaus, Dada, and Neue Sachlichkeit. It was a time when artists of the stature of Klimt, Kirchner, Kandinsky, Marc, Macke, Beckmann, Schwitters, Ernst, Kollwitz, Grosz, Hoch, Heartfield, and Dix were all producing their best work.This book is more than just a survey of artists and movements; it brings a much-needed context to the analysis of not only painting, but sculpture, graphic art, design, and film and photography by relating them to a wider set of cultural and social issues that were specific to German modernism. West concentrates on the ways in which the production and reception of art interacted with—and were affected by—responses to unification, conflict between left and right political factions, gender concerns, contemporary philosophical and religious ideas, the growth of cities, and the increasing importance of mass culture. [Well written and accessible, this book will be essential reading for students of art history and German cultural history.]

Rutgers University Press

Shearer West introduces the visual arts in Germany from the early years of German unification until the beginning of the Second World War. Germany during this period was the site of key movements, including Secessionism, Die Brucke, Der Blaue Reiter, Expressionism, Bauhaus, Dada, and Neue Sachlichkeit. It was a time when artists of the stature of Klimt, Kirchner, Kandinsky, Marc, Macke, Beckmann, Schwitters, Ernst, Kollwitz, Grosz, Hoch, Heartfield, and Dix were all producing their best work.This book is more than just a survey of artists and movements; it brings a much-needed context to the analysis of not only painting, but sculpture, graphic art, design, and film and photography by relating them to a wider set of cultural and social issues that were specific to German modernism. West concentrates on the ways in which the production and reception of art interacted with—and were affected by—responses to unification, conflict between left and right political factions, gender concerns, contemporary philosophical and religious ideas, the growth of cities, and the increasing importance of mass culture. [Well written and accessible, this book will be essential reading for students of art history and German cultural history.]

Marc Chagall's use of flying figures, religious imagery, and intense color symbolize his prolific output of art. 60 color and 25 black &amp; white images detail the work and life of Chagall. Each artwork is accompanied by a caption explaining the imagery and placing it in context with the rest of his work.

Chagall (Gallery of Art)

Individual Artists

Smithmark Pub.

Chagall

Bison Group

A Passion for Performance: Sarah Siddons and Her Portraitists

Renowned for her majestic beauty and impassioned performances, the English actress Sarah Siddons (1755-1831) revolutionized the aesthetics of eighteenth-century theater while inventing a complex public persona to promote her fame. Her flair for self-presentation was matched by the showmanship of the many artists who portrayed her. Here three lively essays--by Robyn Asleson, Shelley Bennett, Mark Leonard, and Shearer West--explore Siddons's life and career, as well as her relationships with a number of artists. Notable among them was Sir Joshua Reynolds, whose masterpiece Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse became an icon of this great actress at the peak of her career. This lavish volume also brings together fifty-five other portraits of Siddons including works by Thomas Gainsborough, George Romney, Thomas Lawrence, and Gilbert Stuart.

Leonard, Mark

Bennett, Shelley

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Books by West, Shearer