Synopsis
The Dictionary of Victorian Painters, first published in 1971, and since reprinted and revised many times, has for so long been the undisputed standard reference on a period of painting that continues to excite and interest the art world, that it was only a question of time before another revision and reformatted version appeared. The Dictionary now appears in two volumes, each complementary to one another yet entirely independent works depending on the particular interest of the reader. This volume, Victorian Painters: 2. Historical Survey and Plates, opens with a scholarly survey of Victorian painting in which the author discusses the development and characteristics of Victorian painting, setting it within the context of the time. This fascinating survey ranges over the early years of Victoria's reign and the vogue for literary genre, social realist and fairy paintings; analyses the brief life of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in the 1850s and its enormous and far-reaching influence for virtually the rest of the century; discusses the various artistic movements - aesthetic, classical, romantic - and the 'giants' who created and contributed to them; and discusses the depiction of social ills and the idealised life of the cottager during a period of rapid change and readjustment.
The study also includes discussion of the more traditional areas of painting: portrait, landscape, marine, military, topographical, still-life, garden, sporting and animal. It ends with a discussion of English Impressionism and the vogue for artists' colonies at the end of the 19th century, a far cry from when the story began, and an indication of the diversity and richness of this period in English art. This book is illustrated with 47 full colour plates, and is followed by a section of some 750 black and white plates which reflect the tremendous output and range of the period. As a visual reference this title will prove invaluable not only to art historians, museum curators, dealers and students of the period, but will also have a wide general appeal. The companion to this volume, Victorian Painters: 1. The Text, contains over 11,000 entries which list every artist recorded during the period 137-1901.
Reviews
A writer on and dealer in Victorian art, Wood has revised and enlarged into two volumes this third edition of Volume 4 in the six-volume series "Dictionary of British Art." The first book is a dictionary of painters with over 11,000 entries; the second book is well illustrated, with 750 black-and-white and 40 color plates containing an historical survey of Victorian art, defined as the period in English art from 1837 to 1901. The illustrations encompass everything from the fantastically imaginative to the Pre-Raphaelites, the social realists, Turner's pre-Impressionism, the end of Romanticism, landscape painting, etc. A catalog following this survey shows examples of many major works. Entries in the first book provide dates that an artist was working, professional affiliation, biography of exhibits, and, in the case of Turner, Rossetti, Ruskin, and other major figures, a bibliography. An asterisk in the dictionary of painters denotes the artists' representation in this catalog. There are many obscure painters here, with only one- or two-line descriptions, a comprehensiveness that should benefit curators, collectors, and dealers who need to authenticate a given artist as well as those studying the Victorian era. Wood describes the popular view of Victorian art, and his evaluation organizes the wealth of its offerings and documents its history. Together these books serve as a necessary, comprehensive, and readable reference source in the study of British art and as sales material for the market in Victorian painting. Recommended for public and special collections.?Ellen Bates, New York
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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