Geraldine A. Johnson
Forfatter af Renaissance Art: A Very Short Introduction
Om forfatteren
Image credit: Dr. Geraldine A. Johnson
Værker af Geraldine A. Johnson
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Almen Viden
- Juridisk navn
- Johnson, Geraldine Anne
- Nationalitet
- USA
- Bopæl
- USA
UK - Uddannelse
- Yale College (BA ∙ magna cum laude)
Cambridge (MA ∙ Art History)
Harvard University (PhD ∙ Art History) - Erhverv
- art historian
- Organisationer
- Christ Church, Oxford
Medlemmer
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Associated Authors
Statistikker
- Værker
- 8
- Medlemmer
- 266
- Popularitet
- #86,736
- Vurdering
- 3.7
- Anmeldelser
- 4
- ISBN
- 13
- Sprog
- 1
E.g. on Raphael's Sistine Madonna: "It is only by setting [the angels in the painting] into their original context and trying to see them through the 'period eye' of their original beholders that the non-, or better, extra-aesthetic aspects of the composition become apparent." Well, who can disagree with that? But are the extra-aesthetic aspects that she cites really that interesting? The angels "bridge the gap between this world and the next" (pretty sure I knew that already), and the "bearded figure" is "St Sixtus, patron saint of Pope Sixtus IV, the deceased uncle of the then pope, Julius II, the man probably responsible for commissioning this work for the high altar of a convent" (how fascinating?).
It seems to me that the "extra-aesthetic" context brought to bear in most of this book is most definitely "extra"—really only fascinating for people already super-invested in the aesthetic worth of the objects. So Johnson, it seems to me, fails to argue successfully what is, after all, a very conventional viewpoint now—she should be able to make this seemingly-trivial case, but for me she fails.
To be fair I think she's hobbled in her quick studies of famous works by the low-res black & white representations of the artists she's discussing, and this book would probably seem much more interesting if read side-by-side with colour reproductions that do the paintings some justice. If you plan to read this, have web access at the ready—as I was on trains and planes in Italy while reading, I didn't have that benefit.… (mere)