The Matter of Art: Materials, Practices, Cultural Logics, C.1250-1750

Description

Materials carried the meaning of early modern art. Transformed and crafted from the matter of nature, art objects were the physical embodiment of both the inherent qualities of materials and the forces of culture that used, refined and produced them. The study of materials offers a new approach to this important period in the history of art, science and culture, linking the close study of painting, sculpture and architecture to much wider categories of the everyday and the exotic. Drawing on research and models from anthropology, material culture and the history of art, scholars in The matter of art explore topics as diverse as Inka stonework, gold in panel painting, cork platforms for shoes, and the Christian Eucharist. -- .

Christy Anderson is Associate Professor of the History of Art at the University of Toronto Anne Dunlop is Associate Professor of Art History at Tulane University in New Orleans Pamela H. Smith is Seth Low Professor of History, Columbia University in the City of New York -- .

'...shows the reader that engagement with the particularities of medium can lead to the richest of interpretations.' Renaissance Quarterly 'The Matter of Art is a volume of superb interdisciplinary criticism thoughtfully organized and presented in as compact and accessible form as could possibly be expected for all it achieves.' Sixteenth Century Journal -- .