Representing the Past in the Art of the Long Nineteenth Century Historicism, Postmodernism, and Internationalism

This edited collection explores the intersection of historical studies and the artistic representation of the past in the long nineteenth century. The case studies provide not just an account of the pursuit of history in art within Western Europe but also examples from beyond that sphere. These covercanonical and conventional examples of history painting as well as more inclusive, ‘popular’ and vernacular visual cultural phenomena. General themes explored include the problematics internal to the theory and practice of academic history painting and historical genre painting, including compositional devices and the authenticity of artefacts depicted; relationships of power and purpose in historical art; the use of historical art for alternative Liberal and authoritarian ideals; the international cross-fertilisation of ideas about historical art; and exploration of the diverse influences of socioeconomic and geopolitical factors. This book will be of particular interest to scholars of the histories of nineteenth-century art and culture.

1 From the Abstract World of Ideas to the Truest Possible Representation of the Historical Event: An Introduction to Historical Art in the Long Nineteenth Century Matthew C. Potter 2 Painting the ‘vie privée of Our Forefathers’: The Dutch and Flemish Schools as Models in the Formulation of New Visions of the Past in Early Nineteenth-Century Painting Eveline Deneer 3 Delécluze’s Augustus And Cinna: Painting and Performing Rome at the End of the Napoleonic Empire Tom Stammers 4 ‘The Exact Moment’: Representing History in Delaroche’s Assassination of the Duc de Guise Stephen Bann 5 Spanish Painting: Recreating a Perceived ‘Golden Age’ Piers Baker-Bates 6 To Conjure Up the Spirits of the Past: German Romantic History Painting in America Jochen Wierich 7 The Relativity of History: The Pre-Raphaelite Rhetoric of Time Julie Codell 8 Beyond the ‘Ten Complete Military Victories’: Images of Battle in the Late-Qing Period Nick Pearce 9 Jan Matejko and Polish Historical Painting Monika Rutecka-Baynes 10 Representing the Finnish Past: Heritage and the World of the Ancient Finn Charlotte Ashby 11 ‘A Lady So Long Deceased’: The Death of the Historical Muse in Australian Painting, 1880–1911 Matthew C. Potter 12 History as You Go: Mobility, Photography, and the Visibility of the Past in Late Ottoman Print Space Ahmet A. Ersoy

Matthew C. Potter is Professor in Art and Design History at Northumbria University.