Children of Mercury: The Lives of the Painters

Description

Children of Mercury is a bold new account of the lives of pre-modern painters, viewed through the lens of The Seven Ages of Man, a widespread belief made famous in the 'All the world's a stage' speech in Shakespeare's As You Like It. Spike Bucklow follows artists' lives from infancy, through childhood, adolescence and adulthood, to maturity, old age and death. He tracks how lives unfolded for both male and female painters, from the famous, like Michelangelo, through Artemisia Gentileschi and Mary Beale to those who are now forgotten, like Jehan Gillemer. The book draws on historic biographies, artists' own writings and, uniquely, the physical evidence offered by their paintings.

Spike Bucklow is Professor of Material Culture and the Conservation Scientist at the Hamilton Kerr Institute, University of Cambridge. He is the author of numerous books on artists' materials and methods, including The Anatomy of Riches: Sir Robert Paston's Treasure (Reaktion, 2018).

'Bucklow offers a deeply humane poetics of the life-cycle and artistic creativity that is enchanting and original. This beautifully written book is an enormously rewarding read for anyone interested in art history.' - Ulinka Rublack, FBA, Professor of Early Modern European History, University of Cambridge 'While there have been studies of prodigies and of aging artists, Spike Bucklow's book is distinctive in looking systematically at the periods in between. It also stands out within this literature for devoting real attention to women as well as men.' - Michael Cole, Howard McP. Davis Professor and Chair of the Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University