Art History Research Articles

Lionel Lindsay’s Maghreb: Orientalism as Anti-Modernism

Lionel Lindsay still troubles Australian art history. An illustrator and etcher of undeniable skill, he voiced conservative aesthetics, including his anti-modernist and antisemitic polemic Addled Art of 1942. However, Lindsay was also philo-Arab, as he demonstrated in his 1929 visit to the Maghreb to meet Etienne Nasr’Eddine Dinet, the Islamophile Orientalist whose 1889 Snake Charmer was Lindsay’s favourite painting at the Art Gallery of NSW. During two months in Bou Saada and Kairouan, Lindsay made dozens of watercolours, drawings and meticulous etchings of ‘local character’, studied here as a group for the first time. Drawing on Lindsay’s unpublished diaries, letters and memoirs this article shows that this anti-modernist Anglo-Australian’s ‘Orientalism’ ignored the settlers and chose favourites among the peoples of the Maghreb.

CompARe: Design and Development of a Gamified Augmented Reality Learning Environment for Cultural Heritage Sites

Understanding cultural heritage by visiting cultural sites is vital to individuals and communities across the world. It is, therefore, important to create authentic learning situations where students can experience and meaningfully learn about cultural heritage; however, authentic learning in situ can be a challenge. Learning during educational field trips at cultural sites is often not well supported, while students’ interest and motivation to learn are not always activated, which ultimately impacts the learning experience during the visit. Furthermore, students may be distracted with off-task activities and by the novelty effect of the setting during the field trip and may find it difficult to dedicate themselves to the learning activities. Augmented and virtual reality technologies, and approaches such as gamification, have created new contexts for location-based, technology-enhanced learning, which can help address some of the challenges faced during educational field trips. This paper describes the design and validation of CompARe, a gamified augmented reality learning environment (LE) created to support student learning while visiting a cultural heritage site. The CompARe LE is built around an inquiry-based scenario in which students, working in groups, take on the role of art historians and are asked to date an important wall mosaic by visiting four digital hotspots located throughout the site. CompARe was developed and validated using a design-based methodology. We present two case studies of upper elementary students using CompARe and discuss the affordances and challenges of the learning experience. We conclude with lessons learned about the effectiveness of the CompARe learning approach and discuss future steps.

Contemporary Painting and Spiritual Landscape--Re-examination of the History and Theme of Shelf Paintings

This paper and the graduation piece continue the course of my research. By investigating the history and development of contemporary painting, of how painting going from representational to abstract, this paper and my graduation piece is aimed to find a new interpretation to integrate the ideas of painting; to achieve the "landscape of spirit" of artist and to interpret the expressive principle of art fully. Finally, combining the landscape of spirit and painting together, highlighting an important factor of creation-"spirit". This paper has taken the analysis from Chinese and Western to be the main content-from representational to abstract; from the West to the East; and from the combination of the East and the West. Of western artists, Picasso, Rothko was chosen to be the representative while the integration of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism from the Wei and Jin Dynasty was chosen to represent the East. Whether it is the religion of the West of the philosophy or the East could be found in painting easily, this show that spirit is necessary in painting. Nowadays, the East and the West are closely linked, Chinese artist's self-study and the "landscape of spirit" could be easily seen. How to explain the "landscape of spirit" is also a problem. This paper tries to explain the "landscape of spirit" by combining art history, study of the connection and development of art and technology, and my own art.

Regional Claims Through Exhibitions—The Transnational Circulation of Włocławek “Fajans” in East Central Europe

The article examines the exhibition history of hand-painted ceramic objects from the “Fajans” factory in Włocławek and the politics of regional contextualization during the period of détente in the 1970s and 1980s. It extends both existing scholarship on transnational art history in socialist Europe and the notion of cultural diplomacy, approached here in the context of regional politics and economic frameworks. The paper highlights the peripheral networks and movements that developed in relation to the socialist cultural politics of working-class artistic engagement and artistic practice as labor. Questions of cooperation between Poland and other socialist states are of particular interest, as are the implications of détente for East Central Europe. The reconstruction of the transnational circulation of “Fajans” objects is based on a comparative analysis of international “Fajans” exhibitions, using documentation from the archives of the Faience Department of the Museum of the Kujawy and Dobrzyń Land, as well as from the archives of the city of Novi Sad. Based on the researched material and the conceptual framework of transnational art history, the article proposes a concept of regional cultural diplomacy.

Bruket av revolutionär historia i rysk protestkonst (2008–2012): ett funktionellt perspektiv

The article addresses uses of revolutionary history in the Russian protest art created during Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency (2008–2012) and reception of these uses. Since the protest art is considered by many as an arena where dissatisfaction with the ruling regime, expressed in the mass protests of the winter 2011–2012, was fueled, the article seeks to define whether the uses of revolutionary history have played a role in consolidation of those dissatisfied with the regime. Focusing on the protest artworks created by collectives Vojna and Pussy Riot, the article answers the question by using and developing Klas-Göran Karlsson’s ideas on functionality of the uses of history. The results show that although many recipients understood the meaning conveyed by the artists, the uses of revolutionary history were most of the time dysfunctional due to the existence of “antirevolutionary consensus” in the Russian society. The article offers new answers to the question as to why the protest art failed to engage the Russian society.

Decolonizing Ukrainian Art History

Abstract In this article, we analyze the influence of the colonial policy of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union on Ukrainian art-historical writing. As we shall reveal, the mechanisms of knowledge production created during that period continued to operate after the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine in 1991. The limitations that were imposed on the art-historical community, which can be regarded as colonial, shaped the crucial narratives (of the “triune nation”) and dictated the thematic scope of Ukrainian scholarship. The new notion of “mysteztvoznavstvo,” introduced in 1937 instead of the previously established Theory and History of Art, eventually led to a profound rift between Soviet Russian and Ukrainian scholarship and the Western world more generally. “Mysteztvoznavstvo” was supposed to be an umbrella term for art history, theory, and art criticism but ended up doing a disservice to each domain. Art theory in Ukraine was virtually nonexistent, whereas art history was mixed with art criticism, resulting in writing that did not meet widely accepted academic standards. This led to the isolation of Ukrainian scholars, who were confined to the Russian-speaking community and had very limited access to foreign scholarship. We also analyze the decolonization processes in the history of Ukrainian art prompted by the invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine after 2013, such as The Revolution of Dignity and “decommunization.” We argue that horizontal art history and decolonial approaches cannot adequately be applied if colonial tools are still used by the discipline. Epistemic decolonization can only be achieved after challenging the standards of “mysteztvoznavstvo” and, thus, by dividing art studies into three separate domains: art history, art theory, and art criticism, as each discipline has its own goals and methods.

THE PINK ROCKS OF CARLO CRIVELLI (CIRCA 1489)

ABSTRACT Until the 1800s, art historians considered the Venetian artist Carlo Crivelli (circa 1435–1495) to be a secondary if not a minor painter. This lack of recognition stems essentially from the dissemination of his paintings in churches and convents throughout the provincial region of Marche (central-eastern Italy), where Crivelli spent the most productive period of his life from 1468 until his death in 1495. As a consequence of this limited accessibility, his paintings could not be seen by mainstream art dealers and historians such as the scrupulous Giorgio Vasari (1511–1574). More than anybody else, the British demonstrated a great interest in Crivelli’s art in the late 1800s by acquiring many of his dispersed paintings that eventually ended up in the National Gallery of London, where the richest collection of the artist’s paintings is preserved today. Among them, ‘The Vision of the Blessed Gabriele’ is the one that attracted our attention not so much for its pictorial qualities and symbolic significance typical of Renaissance paintings, but rather for the many details making up the background of the painting, which accurately depicted the geological and environmental characteristics of the Adriatic port city of Ancona and the nearby Monte Cònero mountain. In this research, besides a meticulous study of architectural, geomorphologic, faunal, and floral details, we focused on the representation of a large outcrop of strikingly pink, thinly stratified rocks, which we studied through a quantitative RGB (red, green, blue) chromatic analysis and then compared the results with those from an analogous analysis of rock samples and outcrop images of all the more-orless red formations of the Umbria-Marche lithostratigraphic succession. This led us to the conclusion that Crivelli’s pink rocks represent the lower Paleogene Scaglia Rossa limestone exposed at Monte Cònero. Thus, the background of Crivelli’s painting ‘The Vision of the Blessed Gabriele’ is no longer an idealized landscape put there as a symbolic or simple wing of a theater stage, but a realistic representation of the physical environment surrounding the main subject of the painting as only a few Renaissance maestros like Piero della Francesca, Andrea Mantegna, and Leonardo da Vinci incorporated in their most famous and studied masterpieces.

Heritage research at the PUMA beamline

The PUMA beamline, created for the heritage community and accessible by all fields of science, welcomed its first users in 2019. Its optical layout uses a horizontal focusing mirror to prefocus the light emitted from the wiggler source for the experimental endstation. It provides a 5 µm × 7 µm microbeam for XRF, XAS, XRD and XEOL analysis or a wide 20 × 5 mm full field when the beam is defocused, and the KB mirrors are retracted. An extremely stable fixed-exit Si(111) monochromator is used to select the wavelength. Many experiments have been performed at PUMA, particularly in archaeology, paleontology, conservation, art history and in identifying safer conditions of irradiation for precious heritage samples. XRF analysis has been used, for example, to show the effects of the interaction of Palaeolithic ivory with soil; to identify the elemental composition of mineralized textiles and to reveal hidden morphologies of fossils.

Oceanic Curating

Oceans have proliferated in artworks and exhibitions in recent years, coinciding with a surge of scholarship in the blue humanities and critical ocean studies. However, despite the extensive art history of the sea, artistic and curatorial knowledge has been relatively underrepresented within marine explorations in the environmental humanities. Meanwhile, an abundance of curatorial projects that take the sea as a subject forms a rich repository of innovative thought and practice, pioneering in both oceanic content and methods. This article examines the various curatorial strategies deployed and critiqued in recent exhibitions, drawing on the authors’ long-term research project Curating the Sea, which has involved both primary art historical research and collaborations with curators of art and natural history as well as contemporary artists. Here the authors chart a shift from the display of contemporary marine-themed “cabinets of curiosity” toward more localized and politicized curatorial responses, from awe in the face of the aquatic sublime toward commitment to interdisciplinary and multispecies collaboration. They argue for curatorial practice’s unique capacity to respond to the plurality of oceans and their communities, histories, geographies, and ecologies, demonstrating that such activity does not merely reflect but itself constitutes recent oceanic cultural and theoretical currents.

Stranieri Ovunque—Foreigners Everywhere and the History of Global Modernism

Occurring every two years, the Venice Biennale remains a key node for contemporary art. In Venice, in addition to a main exhibition, national pavilions are located primarily between the two main biennale sites, the Giardini and the Arsenale, and collateral events are scattered across the city. Understood as the sum of these many exhibitions, Venice allows visitors and participants to take stock of the current guiding interests and concerns within the art world. The main exhibition of the 60th edition, Stranieri Ovunque—Foreigners Everywhere, is curated by Adriano Pedrosa. The exhibition first and foremost tries to reunite artists who are foreigners, immigrants, or exiles, especially those who have moved between the Global South and the Global North. Pulling from the etymology of romance languages, this concept of the stranger is mobilized to include queer artists, outsider artists, and Indigenous artists. It is further separated into the Nucleo Contemporaneo (Contemporary Nucleus) and a Nucleo Storico (Historic Nucleus) focused on global modernism. Within the main exhibition, the question of how to tell local histories in relation to the globalized contemporary moment emerges through the interplay between the historic and contemporary nuclei, and these rooms emphasize the global entanglements and frictions of modernism. It is significant to organize a biennale that is focused on breaking the Eurocentric barriers of art history. However, this article argues that can only meaningfully be done by expecting the same rigorous approach to global modernism as to the hegemonic Euro-American art histories of modernism.

CREATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE FUND OF THE DIRECTORATE OF ART EXHIBITIONS OF UZBEKISTAN

The establishment of the Fund of the Directorate of Art Exhibitions of Uzbekistan was historically linked to the creation of the Academy of Arts of the USSR. In 1947, the All-Russian Academy of Arts was transformed into the Academy of Arts of the USSR in order to promote the development of fine arts in the USSR. The main tasks of the Academy were to ensure the sustainable growth and development of Soviet fine arts in all its forms, to actively support the development of artists' creativity, to work out issues of art theory and history, to develop Soviet fine arts, and to train and educate creative specialists (painters and graphic artists).

On the Dynamism of Paintings Through the Distribution of Edge Directions.

The digitization of artworks has recently offered new computational perspectives on the study of art history. While much of the focus has been on classifying styles or identifying objects, the analysis of more abstract concepts, such as the perception of motion or dynamism in still images, remains largely unexplored. Semioticians and artists have long explored the representation of dynamism in still images, but they often did so through theoretical frameworks or visual techniques, without a quantitative approach to measuring it. This paper proposes a method for computing and comparing the dynamism of paintings through edge detection. Our approach is based on the idea that the dynamism of a painting can be quantified by analyzing the edges in the image, whose distribution can be used to identify patterns and trends across artists and movements. We demonstrate the applicability of our method in three key areas: studying the temporal evolution of dynamism across different artistic styles, as well as within the works of a single artist (Wassily Kandinsky), visualizing and clustering a large database of abstract paintings through PixPlot, and retrieving similarly dynamic images. We show that the dynamism of a painting can be effectively quantified and visualized using edge detection techniques, providing new insights into the study of visual culture.

Art Criticism in Dostoevsky’s “Grazhdanin” (“The Citizen”) 1873

Dostoevsky’s interest in art is undeniable. Painting, music, and theater were reflected in his works of art. Dostoevsky’s wife, Anna Grigorievna, regularly mentioned in her memoirs the couple’s visits to museums and galleries during their stay in Europe. Certain works of art had a strong impact on the writer. Such an effect was produced on Dostoevsky by Hans Holbein the Younger’s painting “The Dead Christ.” In “Grazhdanin” of 1873, when the writer served as the editor of the publication, notes and articles appeared devoted to reviews of exhibitions, paintings, and photographs from the Hermitage collection. The authors published in “Grazhdanin” — A. N. Maikov, V. P. Meshchersky, and I. Yu. Nekrasov — addressed painting in their publications. Dostoevsky devoted the ninth chapter of “The Writer’s Diary” to the St. Petersburg exhibition, prepared for display in Vienna. He was interested in issues related to the misunderstanding of Russian art by other cultures. Art criticism in the weekly “Grazhdanin” took various forms. The authors of “Grazhdanin” published both general reviews and topical articles. Expressing paintings and photo reproductions through words is a difficult task even for experienced art critics with specialized art history training. A. N. Maikov acted as a scrupulous reviewer, noticing small but vital details in understanding a painting. The critic turned to the historical context to expand the image. In their examination of the latest events in Moscow and St. Petersburg, I. Yu. Nekrasov and V. P. Meshchersky respectively focused on art news. In Dostoevsky’s verbal description, paintings came to life and became dynamic. Writers were often unconcerned with the image details; they sought to convey strong and vivid artistic impressions in words.

The influence of Chinese culture and images on the work of 19th-century Russian artists who were part of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Beijing

The object of the study is the Russian fine art of the XIX century. The subject of the research is the history of the interaction of Russian artists with Chinese culture, history and art, their perception and interpretation, as well as the features of the artistic embodiment of images and motifs. Iconographic, as well as stylistic and compositional analysis help to identify the content of the artists' works, their language and individual techniques. Comparing the works created both during their stay in China and after the completion of the mission allows us to show how Russian authors developed their impressions, contributing to the creation of a certain image of China in the eyes of Russians. The research methodology is based on a combination of techniques aimed at studying various aspects of the phenomenon of representation of Chinese art and culture in Russia. The methodology is based on a comprehensive study and comparison of various types of sources, research of artistic material, namely: works by Russian artists who participated in the activities of the mission, reflecting images and motives, techniques in their work. The interaction of Chinese and Russian art is an urgent topic of research in the art history of both countries. Against the background of the appeal to the assessment of the current situation and the history of such contacts, it is necessary to analyze the processes that influenced their formation. Russian Russian Orthodox Mission in the XIX century. The main, and sometimes almost the only means of maintaining communication between the two states was the activity of the Russian Orthodox Mission, which included painters associated with the Imperial Academy of Arts and, thus, the best traditions of the Russian art school. The stay of Russian artists in China left a certain imprint on their own creative manner, the choice of subjects, the specifics of the composition and the symbols used in conditions of maintaining adherence to academicism and realism.

Analyzing Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains from a Pictorial Perspective

From the perspective of iconography, this paper presents an in-depth analysis of Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, a classic work of traditional Chinese landscape painting. This work has been highly respected since the Tang Dynasty and is regarded as one of the important representatives in the history of Chinese painting. Its rich connotation and artistic value have always been the focus of scholars' research. The thesis aims to deeply interpret the historical and cultural connotations and artistic symbolism embedded in Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains through the iconographic method, from the levels of ex-iconography, iconography and iconographic analysis, to reveal its important position and value in Chinese traditional art. Adopting the iconographic method, the analysis is divided into three main levels. First, through pre-imaginative analysis, we focus on the physical facts and visual representations on the surface of the work; second, we use imaginative analysis to explore the information of the specific objects in the work and explore their connections and themes; and finally, we carry out imaginative analysis to reveal the deeper historical and cultural connotations and symbolic meanings of the work. Through in-depth iconographic analysis, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains demonstrates the core values of traditional Chinese landscape painting, presenting a fusion of natural landscapes and humanistic emotions. It is not only a work of art, but also a vivid expression of traditional Chinese culture and aesthetics. The findings of this dissertation will contribute to a better understanding of the profound historical and cultural connotations embedded in Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, as well as its important position and value in the history of Chinese art.

Aquatic Art Histories of the North Atlantic: Frida Zachariassen and the Faroe Islands Fisheries

Aquatic Art Histories of the North Atlantic: Frida Zachariassen and the Faroe Islands Fisheries

Maharashtrian Dalit Jalse as an Inspiration to Anti-caste Movements: A Reply from Subaltern to Subalternity

This article focuses on the Maharashtrian Dalit representation in the popular traditional art form of jalsa and aims to know how Marathi Dalit rangbhoomi/theatre has been used as a source to present stereotypical Dalit untouchability and caste-based issues. A long history of Dalit art from the 1930s to the twenty-first century has been transformed into a creative form for social awakening. Various forms of jalse (like ‘ Amberkarite jalse’ and ‘ Amberkarite Shahiri’, Powade, Ovi or Lavani later became mostly part of Ambedkari jalse) and their response to subalternity have a significant role in inspiring anti-case movements. These forms have influenced Dalit artists and activists not only in Maharashtra but also across India. Visiting the history of Dalit rangbhoomi demonstrates subalterns’ response to a Dalit subalternity. In addition, this study is very substantial to touch on the uncovered area of Dalit jalse and Qawwali as an anti-caste movement. Only countable articles have been published in English on Maharashtrian jalse. Thus, this research is essential to know the world about Dalit’s contribution to art creativity. This article concludes that oral traditional forms have their own representation style, and their aim is to express Dalits’ pain, injustice and struggle through traditional and modern forms of untouchability.

Jewish Art Studies in the Lithuanian Yiddish Press of the Interwar Period (1918–1940)

Summary Lithuanian art studies as an independent branch of science began to take shape in the First Republic of Lithuania between year 1918 and 1940. During 22 years in a multinational free state, it followed a winding path of mastery, professionalism, and the formation of a critic’s thought. However, if the origins, development, and forms of interwar Lithuanian art studies already are being explored, the Jewish art studies are still waiting for its first investigations. The purpose of this article is to broaden the scope of Lithuanian art research by incorporating the layers of interwar Jewish art studies conducted in the Yiddish language. Using the combined methodology of research as method of source studies, the aspects of social history of art and the comparative method, the Jewish art studies were analysed as a specific phenomenon which functioned alongside Lithuanian art studies. Throughout this research, over 1,000 Yiddish publications were reviewed to find the answers to the never previously discussed questions – how many Jewish art historians and critics contributed articles to the Yiddish press, what kind and quality of publications about Jewish art were featured, what aspects of Jewish art, artists, and society did Jewish art critics emphasise, and what kind of relationship existed among art critics, artists and public. The article also encompasses the short biographies of the most prominent Jewish authors in the field of art criticism.

Plastic Surgeons and Portraits Before the Invention of Photography.

The aim of this paper is to review portraits from the Renaissance to the Romantic eras, created before the invention of photography, and to discuss their usefulness to plastic surgeons. Before photography and film were invented, portraits played a critical role in documenting individuals, conveying power, and immortalizing people's appearance and identity. Portraits were not merely simple representations of a person's physical appearance; they played a crucial role in conveying the subject's inner qualities and social position, as well as the cultural values of the era. Artists often idealized or embellished certain features to align with the cultural and aesthetic ideals of their time. Portraits of the Renaissance to Romantic eras could have a significant impact on plastic surgeons' understanding of beauty and aesthetics. A plastic surgeon drawing on Renaissance ideals might prioritize symmetry and balanced facial features, which continue to be regarded as attractive in contemporary beauty standards. Beauty standards during these times favored curvaceous and lively figures, potentially inspiring modern plastic surgeons to focus on creating more dramatic or unique appearances. A plastic surgeon inspired by Romantic art might value uniqueness and avoid rigid beauty standards, focusing instead on enhancing a person's natural traits rather than conforming to a singular "ideal" appearance. Plastic surgeons could gain a richer, more classical perspective on aesthetics by studying historical art, potentially leading to more personalized and balanced outcomes. However, integrating these classical ideals into modern practice must also consider the diverse and varying definitions of beauty prevalent in today's multicultural society.

Подходы к изучению текстов культуры в работах В. В. Нарциссова

The aim of the research is to identify the peculiarities of perception of cultural texts by V. V. Narcissov, a prominent art historian, staff member of the House-Museum of P. D. Korin, lecturer whose approach helped to form several generations of scholars in the field of Russian culture and medieval Christian culture. The scientific novelty of the work is derived from the analysis of relevant biographic and academic papers on art history. Biographic material helped to identify the characteristics of the culture of Moscow intelligentsia in the second half of the 20th century. Papers on art history were central in uncovering the author’s approach to monument study. Likewise, general artistic principles of fine art have been considered. As a result of the conducted research, through consideration of the available scientific papers by V. V. Narcissov on Russian art it became possible to note specific research approaches and the overall continuity in the Russian art history tradition during the 20th and 21st centuries.