Thinking About Art: A Thematic Guide to Art History

307 Pages·2015·13.64 MB·English

by  Penny Huntsman

Thinking
About
Art

Thinking
About
Art
A Thematic Guide to Art History
Penny Huntsman
Umberto Boccioni,
Unique Forms of Continuity in Space,
1913, bronze, 1175 × 876 × 368 mm, cast
1972. London, Tate.
Source: © Tate, London 2015.
This edition first published 2016
© 2016 Association of Art Historians
Registered Office
John Wiley & Sons Ltd,
The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester,
West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK
Editorial Offices
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA
9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK
The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester,
West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK
For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services,
and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse
the copyright material in this book please see our website at
www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell.
The right of Penny Huntsman to be identified as the author
of this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repro-
duced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of
the publisher.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats.
Some content that appears in print may not be available in
electronic books.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products
are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and prod-
uct names used in this book are trade names, service marks,
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor
mentioned in this book.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher
and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book,
they make no representations or warranties with respect to
the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and
specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or
fitness for a particular purpose. It is sold on the understanding
that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional ser-
vices and neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for
damages arising herefrom. If professional advice or other expert
assistance is required, the services of a competent professional
should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Huntsman, Penny.
Thinking about art : a thematic guide to art history / Penny
Huntsman.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-118-90517-3 (cloth) -- ISBN 978-1-118-90497-8
(pbk.) 1. Art--History. 2. Art--Themes, motives. I. Association of
Art Historians (Great Britain) II. Title.
N5303.H86 2015
700.9--dc23 2015021567
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library.
Cover image: Jackson Pollock, 1949. Photo © Martha Holmes /
LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images
Cover design by Atelier Works LLP
Set in 10/14pt ITC Caslon 224 Std by Atelier Works LLP
1 2016
Contents
VI Companion Website
VII Acknowledgements
1 Introduction
6 Formal Analysis Toolbox
20 Chapter 1
Genres and Subjects

74 Chapter 2
Materials, Techniques and Processes
114 Chapter 3
Form, Style and Function
156 Chapter 4
Social and Historical Contexts

190 Chapter 5
Patronage and the Social and
Cultural Status of the Artist
230 Chapter 6
Gender, Nationality and Ethnicity

274 Glossary
289 Index
Companion Website
Please visit the companion website at www.wiley.com/go/thinkingaboutart
to view additional, freely available content for this title.
– Exam Practice Questions for each chapter
– Other useful books and references for each chapter
VI
Acknowledgements
Five years ago, I sat in my back garden with Caroline Osborne, former Chair
of the Association of Art Historians Schools’ Group, and together we decided
that an A-level textbook must be written to support art history in further edu-
cation. We decided upon its plain-speaking tone and easy-to-follow form.
I devised a 10,000-word outline; over the next couple of years this contri-
bution would grow more than ten-fold and, before I knew it, I had an entire
manuscript. In order to satisfy the current A-level demands, it was decided
that, alongside the thematic chapters, an additional section would be pro-
vided as a stand-alone or complementary ‘Toolbox’. This is essentially a list
of questions or prompts which aids the reading of any given work of art or
architecture. I am particularly indebted to Caroline Osborne for having a list
of questions far more exhaustive and well-structured than mine. I give her
thanks for sharing these invaluable points, for collating all of the many school
reviews and for proof-reading the manuscript with an expert eye.
I also owe thanks to Tamara Trodd, a former AAH trustee at the start of the
project, who really helped me to refine my initial ideas, and to my friend and a
highly respected English teacher, Jane Lewis, who spent many an hour in my
study proof-reading and offering constructive grammatical criticism. As the
manuscript began the long process to publication, the staff at Wiley Blackwell
offered invaluable support. The staff over in Boston provided technical as-
sistance and emotional strength when the pedagogy of the book became the
focus. Towards the end of a long process, I called upon the help of Graham
Whitham. I have held Graham in very high regard for many years; indeed, I
wrote the book in response to the dynamism of the AS Specification that he
wrote. Graham provided indispensable expert knowledge and tidied many a
loose end that I simply did not have the energy to face. Graham, along with
Caroline Osborne and current AAH trustee Chrissie Bradstreet, reviewed the
entire manuscript; I thank them all individually for such a protracted under-
taking.
I did not set out to write a book; the book found me in many ways. For
that reason, especial heartfelt thanks go to the headmistress, Louise Higson,
and her leadership team, Alison Binns and Mandy Higgs, at Farlington School
for their constant support and enthusiasm. Most importantly, I must thank
my husband, Mark, and my children, Hannah, Laurence and William, for the
thousands of hours I shut myself away to bring the manuscript to completion.
I could not have completed the task without their support.
This book was written with heart and with a desire to facilitate art teach-
ers – indeed, any teachers – to pick this subject up and introduce it into their
schools and colleges – something less likely to occur without a textbook of
sorts to guide them. In terms of the support they offered, a couple of individu-
als meant more to me than they could have imagined at the time: Tom Chris-
topherson, Head of Art and Law Studies at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London,
and Michael Casartelli, then Procurement Manager at the V&A (now Head of
Procurement, Tate), both of whom offered me very timely support and en-
VII
couragement. I first met Michael on the staircase at the V&A where I singled
him out as a member of staff to berate about the fact that the V&A’s wonderful
‘lost-wax process’ clip was not available to those students who could not make
it to London. The next time we spoke, he told me the DVD had been uploaded
onto YouTube for everyone to enjoy – that single gesture reminded me that
even busy people care about making art history more inclusive. Both of these
individuals actively support the inclusivity of the subject, and make time to
listen to voices as unimportant as mine.
I would like to thank the following for allowing me private tours and
detailed information on their respective buildings: MCC (Lord’s Cricket
Ground) London; James Breslin, former keeper of William Morris’ Red House,
Bexleyheath; and David Beever, keeper of the Royal Pavilion, Brighton.
Of course, this book would not have been possible without the AAH. Under
the aegis of former Chair Evelyn Welch, the organisation supported a brave
new schools-based project which relentlessly pursued a plain-speaking ap-
proach to the subject in order to make its scholasticism accessible to all. At a
time when visual literacy has never been more important, the AAH has advo-
cated the inclusivity of the subject and enabled non-specialists to introduce
it into the Maintained Sector. Personal thanks must go to the current Chair,
Christine Riding, for making the project a priority upon her arrival and for
the forward-thinking approach she has taken towards the project ever since.
Pontus Rosén, Chief Executive Officer at the AAH, has endured rather than
enjoyed my highs and lows, and I thank him for the perpetual optimism and
forbearance he has shown throughout the process. The AAH has taken the
boldest of steps in championing such a long-awaited guidebook to the A-level
and in acknowledging the mainstream audience to whom this book is really
dedicated.
Penny Huntsman, June 2015
In the interest of space I will refrain from listing the individuals Penny has
mentioned in her acknowledgements, but I wholeheartedly add my thanks,
on behalf of the Association, to hers. There are, however, a few people I would
like to add.
First and foremost I would like to thank AAH members for supporting and
encouraging publication of this textbook as part of our mission to promote
the professional practice and public understanding of art history.
Given the size of this project compared to the size of our office, all AAH
staff have been involved and I thank them all for their professionalism and
good sense. Rose Aidin, Education Officer, has gone beyond the call of duty in
project managing the last 11 months of the book’s gestation period, skilfully
coordinating the design, production and publication process.
I want to thank Alison Yarrington, AAH Chair between the project’s in-
itiation under Evelyn Welch and its conclusion under Christine Riding, for
her trust in and encouragement of Penny and others involved in the project
during this time.
AAH trustee Grischka Petri was part of all legal negotiations with our pub-
VIII