Masterpieces: Chapters on the History of an Idea

Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979. Hardcover. Purple cloth boards with gilt spine lettering; blue and purple illustrated dj, mylar cover; xix, 168 pages, 18 unnumbered leaves of plates. VG-/VG- (Ex-library with stamps and labels on spine, inside front and rear covers, ffep. Light shelfwear to boards, block, dj. Pages are otherwise clean.). Item #185477
ISBN: 9780691039459

"Tracing the history and critical function of the most hallowed word in the vocabulary of praise, Walter Cahn studies - through numerous illustrations - the changes in the meaning of the term 'masterpiece' from the earliest use of the expression 'chef d'oeuvre' in the Middle Ages to the effects of Romanticism and other influences in the nineteenth century. In the process, he illuminates the change in status of the visual arts from that of mechanical arts, which originated in antiquity and projected into the medieval period, to that of fine arts, which took shape in the Renaissance and was carried forward into later centuries." -- Cover page 4. Contents include: The artisanal masterpiece -- Man, the divine masterpiece -- Toward the enduring monument : Nantes, Brou, Margaret of Austria -- Masterpieces of the French Renaissance -- Chef D'Oeuvre and masterpiece -- The classic masterpiece -- The absolute masterpiece.

OCLC: 4834314

Price: $32.00

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