Technical Art History Research Articles

NEW AGE OLD MASTERS

The paper considers the contribution that the history of science can make to conservation science and technical art history. In particular, it uses scientific texts from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries to interpret the significance of materials on the Westminster Retable, c.1260. This prestigious altarpiece was decorated with imitation gems, and the paper explores the intellectual context in which it was conceived and created.

KALEIDOSCOPIC EXUBERANCE AND COLOUR ASCETICISM: EDELFELT’S PORTRAIT OF ACKTÉ

This paper focuses on a painting of the Finnish singer Aino Ackté. This gifted young beauty inspired Albert Edelfelt to make a series of portraits in 1900-1905. The singer and the painter, who was curator of the Finnish pavilion at the Paris World’s Fair in 1900, spread cultural propaganda and sought support for Finland’s autonomy which was severely threatened by oppressive Russian action. This paper, with its interdisciplinary approach involving a conservator and an art historian, aims to show how technical art history reveals Edelfelt’s shift to colour asceticism, a term linking artists such as Velázquez, Manet and Whistler. By studying his writings and letters referring to fin-de-siècle modernism and political history, and by relating them to an analysis of hiS painting techniques and materials, Edelfelt can be connected to a new interpretation of the map of Symbolism.

Modulations sur la toile : La Reine Blanche d’Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905)

Modulations on canvas : La Reine Blanche by Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905) This article analyses the making by the Finnish painter Edelfelt of an historical oil painting in the Academic style. Technical art history was the main research and was based on close collaboration between two specialists : an art historian and a conservator. The painting was visually examined as well as scientifically analysed. The information obtained was compared with the remarks from 23 letters of the artist and with 17 painted or drawn sketches linked to the painting. The work was painted in Paris in 1876-77, while Edelfelt studied at the Ecole des Beaux-arts under the tutorship of Jean-Léon Gérôme. This article gives precise information regarding Gérôme’s training methods, including initial preparation, the actual painting process and the final touch. This investigation reveals how long and segmented a process the painting underwent before it was finally displayed in the Salon.

Thomas Wilmer Dewing: A Look beneath the Surface

Previous articleNext article No AccessThomas Wilmer Dewing: A Look beneath the SurfaceSusan Hobbs, Yu-tarng Cheng, and Jacqueline S. OlinSusan Hobbs Search for more articles by this author , Yu-tarng Cheng Search for more articles by this author , and Jacqueline S. Olin Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 4, Number 3/4Summer - Autumn 1990 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/smitstudamerart.4.3_4.3109016 Views: 12Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref Journal History This article was published in Smithsonian Studies in American Art (1987-1990), which is continued by American Art (1991-present). Copyright 1990 Oxford University PressPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Joyce Hill Stoner Turning Points in Technical Art History in American Art, American Art 26, no.11 (Jul 2015): 2–9.https://doi.org/10.1086/665624