Fabric of Vision: Dress and Drapery in Painting

Description

Clothing appears in all forms of figurative painting, often taking up two thirds of a frame; yet it can often go unnoticed. Far more than a simple means of identifying the status or occupation of a figure, clothes and cloth are used creatively by artists to hint at ambiguities in character, adjust the emotional temperature, direct the eye or make subtle allusions. Drawing on works by artists over a period of six centuries, from Giotto to El Greco, Matisse to Cindy Sherman, the author reveals through paintings, fashion plates, photographs and film stills how drapery in art evolved from Renaissance extravagance to Neoclassical simplicity at the end of the 18th century, and has extended to infinite uses in all genres of Modern art. First published in 2002 to accompany an exhibition of the same name at the National Gallery, London, this beautifully illustrated - and beautifully written - book by pioneering art historian and critic Anne Hollander, is reissued with a new Foreword by Valerie Steele. As penetrating and insightful as when it was first published, it remains a must-read for today's generation of students and anyone with an interest in art and fashion.

Anne Hollander was an independent art historian, critic and historian of dress who was renowned for her bold studies of the evolution of costume. A fellow of the New York Institute for the Humanities and former president of PEN American Center, she was the author of influential books on the subject of costume and fabric in art, Seeing through Clothes and Sex and Suits, as well as Moving Pictures, on the influence of painting on cinema.

With Fabric of Vision, Hollander [explores] the ways in which artists have used dress and drapery to give emphasis and emotional force to the figures portrayed ... brilliantly combines [her] skills as both an art historian and a dress historian. ... Reading this book is like having Hollander walk with us through our favorite art museum, helping us really see and understand the works of art through close attention to dress, drapery, and the depiction of the body,whether clothed or nude. * From the Foreword by Valerie Steele, Director and Chief Curator, The Museum at FIT, New York * A beautifully written, beautifully illustrated introduction to the whole of western European painting from the 14th century through the 20th from a specific, yet basic and widely interesting point of view. This is not just a book for people fascinated by clothes, but for anyone who likes to think about paintings. ... The writing is exceptionally deft; the ideas will interest novices and experts alike. * Choice * Fabric of Vision is a unique and welcome contribution to art history and criticism that will doubtless serve as a valuable scholarly resource. * Reid Ahlbeck, Dialogue * [Fabric of Vision] demonstrates how artists used garments and draperies as an expressive means in their paintings. Covering Western European art from the Renaissance to the 20th century, Hollander shows how fabric in art reflected each era's social preoccupations, fashions, and tastes ... The text is illustrated by more than 140 beautiful full-color illustrations of works by such artists as Tintoretto, Van Dyck, Delacroix, and Picasso. Throughout, Hollander brings new insight into the fields of both art and costume history. * Sandra Rothenberg, Library Journal * Anne Hollander's Fabric of Vision: Dress and Drapery in Painting ... is rich with color reproductions showing this and other splendid yardage from the classical period through the mid-20th century ... A dynamic and provocative study. * Suzanne Cleary, Bloomsbury Review * Illuminating. * Kim Waller, Victoria magazine *