The Conversation Piece: Making Modern Art in Eighteenth-Century Britain

Abstract

BOOKThe Conversation Piece: Making Modern Art in Eighteenth-Century BritainKate Retford https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00340 Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-23263Copy Pioneered by William Hogarth (1697–1764) and his peers in the early 18th century, and then revitalized by Johan Zoffany (1733–1810), the conversation piece was an innovative mode of portraiture, depicting groups posed in landscape or domestic settings. These artists grappled with creating complex multi-figured compositions and intricate narratives, filling their paintings with representations of socially, nationally, and temporally precise customs. Paying particular attention to the vibrant (and at times fabricated) interior and exterior settings in these works, Kate Retford discusses the various ways that the conversation piece engaged with the rich material culture of Georgian Britain. The book also explores how these portraits served a wide array of interests and concerns among familial networks and larger social groups. From codifying performances of politeness to engaging in cross-cultural exchanges, the conversation piece was a complex and nuanced expression of a multifaceted society.PRAISE FOR THE BOOK:". . . it provides not only an extremely satisfying account of conversation pieces but makes significant contributions to our understanding of British art and the eighteenth century more broadly. Essential." — Craig Hanson, Choice*This eBook is available exclusively on the A&AePortal.*AuthorKate RetfordPublisherPaul Mellon CentrePrint publication date October 2017 (out of print)Print ISBN 9780300194807EISBN 9780300272888Copyright© 2017 by Kate RetfordIllustrations 232Print Status out of print Publisher (out of print) WorldCat Google Books

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