American genre painters in Venice: 1877--1893.
Item
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Title
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American genre painters in Venice: 1877--1893.
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Identifier
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AAI3115248
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identifier
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3115248
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Creator
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Fiorino-Iannace, Giovanna P.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Katherine Manthorne
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Date
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2004
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Art History
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Abstract
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Throughout the nineteenth century, American and European artists captured Venice's contradictory characteristics, juxtaposing the romantic with the macabre, the brilliant with the subdued and the superficial with the sentimental. In the case of the American artists, who had embarked on their sojourns in Venice between 1877 and 1893, the primary appeal was the city's picturesqueness and timeless quality. As the home of hundreds of lace makers, bead stringers and glass blowers, Venice seemingly was untouched by the onset of industrialization, which was affecting the rest of the world, and was a tangible link to the past.;This dissertation concentrates on the American artists who romanticized the Venetians and provided superficial images of the women and men at work, in relation to the works created by their European counterparts. I propose that the American artists were advancing an Italian stereotype with which American viewers would feel comfortable. The artists produced images that changed the viewer's perception of Venice and its inhabitants, who were associated with the decrepitude of the Italian city. This romanticized impression is also conveyed in pictures of the Venetians at prayer and at leisure. The American artists in Venice portray quintessential Italian traits, crafts and pastimes, which address contemporary Venetian life and simultaneously honor ancient traditions. This nostalgia for a simpler life, as rendered in these art works, suggests the American genre painter's antebellum tradition of depicting communal contentment and peaceful living.;By reviewing the cultural and social circumstances in Venice during the late nineteenth century, this thesis reveals the impact the Italian experience exerted on American thought and the artists who painted these scenes. This interest in the Venetians and their customs, superficial as it may have been, resulted in some of the best works produced by the American artists. Their quaint pictures of figures at work, in prayer and at play were appealing because they filled an emotional void as Americans attempted to uphold an ideal way of living that was no longer possible in a technologically progressive America.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
