Research Catalog

Title

Some call it Kitsch: masterpieces of bourgeois realism.

Author

Čelebonović, Aleksa.

Publication

New York, H.N. Abrams [1974]

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Dedalus Foundation, donor NN

Description

197 pages illustrations (some color); 32 cm

Summary

Some Call it Kitsch revives the delightful and evocative art our parents and grandparents cherished. These Victorian and Edwardian masterworks were the pride of great museums around the world, and a lightly disguised source of erotic stimulation to their viewers. But after the victory of Impressionism over Academic painting and the rise of "modern" art, these eloquent narrative depicting historical events, mythological scenes, religious tableaux, and erotic landscapes gradually sank into total disfavor and were relegated to dusty storage bins and dismissed as Kitsch - the epitome of oversentimentality, pretentiousness, and bad taste. Today these paintings are once again taken seriously for their imaginative content and technical brilliance as well as for their nostalgic and often sensual charm. Prices are skyrocketing and exhibitions draw large and enthusiastic crows. Some Call It Kitsch is the first full-scale exploration of Bourgeois Realist painting in terms of present-day critical standards. Among the artists represented are Alma-Tadema (Greek and Roman scenes of splendor and debauchery), Tissot (upper-middle-class high life), Lord Leighton (icily Classical but thoroughly erotic nudes), and Boldini (portraits of Edwardian aesthetes and titled beauties). The author, Aleksa C̆elebonović, is Yugoslavia's leading book publisher and a distinguished art historian. Writing with great perception and wit, he brings to life a group of fascinating painters, some well known today, others forgotten for more than a century. French, German, Italian, English, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, and American artists are represented, the majority for the first time in full color. A valuable feature of the volume is a section devoted to brief biographies of the artists. -- from dust jacket.

Subjects

• 1800-1899
• Kitsch
• Academic art > 19th century
• Painting, Modern > 19th century

Note

• The text of the original French manuscript, Chefs-d'oeuvre du réalisme bourgeois, was adopted and edited by S. Tolstoī.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 192-194).

Source (note)

• of the Dedalus Foundation;

Contents

An unrecognized trend -- Bourgeois realism: the art-historical context -- Historical objectivity -- Art as a record of the past -- The reassessment of bourgeois realism -- Bourgeois realism and modern art -- The triumphant middle class -- Eclecticism as the expression of a moral compromise -- Sources and style -- Reality and symbolism -- Photography and art nouveau -- Religion -- A new form of piety -- The influence of positivism -- The temptations of this world -- Devotional pictures -- Torture and mortification -- Religious practice -- The cult of the dead -- Mythology and antiquity -- Objective and subjective realism -- Gesture and eroticism -- Reconstruction of the life of antiquity -- The empire of the night -- The trade in women -- Legend and history -- The vitalist aesthetic -- The pleasure of the senses -- Medieval legend -- Life in fancy dress -- Political trends -- Influence of official history and literature -- Gallantry -- Warlike patriotism -- Panache and jingoism -- Orientalism -- Social and family life -- Formal parties -- Select gatherings -- Love and marriage -- Woman in the home -- The love of children -- The family crises -- Politics, science and the arts -- The portrait -- In evening dress -- In everyday dress -- In the open air -- Meditative poses -- Epilogue.

Call Number

MAMZ+ 75-306

ISBN

• 0810902338
• 9780810902336

LCCN

74008396

OCLC

901149

Author

Čelebonović, Aleksa.

Title

Some call it Kitsch: masterpieces of bourgeois realism.

Imprint

New York, H.N. Abrams [1974]

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 192-194).

Local Note

Copy in ReCAP 24-4919 inscribed.

Source

Gift; of the Dedalus Foundation; 2024. NN

Chronological Term

1800-1899

Added Author

Dedalus Foundation, donor NN

Other Form:

Online version: Čelebonović, Aleksa. Some call it Kitsch: masterpieces of bourgeois realism. New York, H.N. Abrams [1974] (OCoLC)741860529

Research Call Number

ReCAP 24-4919

MAMZ+ 75-306