Nusret Isanović, Safavidska umjetnost: sjajenje ideje perzijske metafizike
Review of: Nusret Isanović, Safavidska umjetnost: sjajenje ideje perzijske metafizike, Sarajevo: El-Kalem − Centar za napredne studije, 2016.
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Review of: Nusret Isanović, Safavidska umjetnost: sjajenje ideje perzijske metafizike, Sarajevo: El-Kalem − Centar za napredne studije, 2016.
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This paper examines a number of very common themes in Islamic art and relates them to its nature, sources, principles, and artistic character. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between Islam and art and to determing the extent to which Islam as a faith has influenced Islamic art. As one can hardly pass over in silence the ban on representing persons, when dealing with Islamic art as a phenomenon, that too is discussed at the appropriate point in the paper. This paper involves no attempt to offer final answers, the author’s hope being to initiate dialogue on themes affecting Islamic art. A satisfactory treatment of the topics of the subsections would require a series of dedicated studies.
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The glass chandelier from Asare Evangelical Lutheran Church is one of the few examples of English-style glass chandeliers that have come down to us in Latvia. The chandelier was probably made in Bohemia in the early 19th century. It is a single-level chandelier with a framework supporting glass arms with twelve candles. The upper part of the chandelier is enhanced by a glass canopy with small strings of glass beads. A peculiar element of the chandelier’s composition is a basket formed by rings filled with quadrangular glass beads and hung in glass bead strings. Today the chandelier is located in Rundāle Palace Museum. It received this object from the elder of the Asare Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1975. The museum’s restorer Maija Baņķiere (1938–2021) carried out the restoration works. The chandelier is now exhibited in the First Study of the Duke in Rundāle Palace. Production of glass-arm chandeliers developed almost simultaneously in England, Bohemia and Venice but those made in England are considered as technically most perfect and artistically valuable. Their period of flourishing lasted from the 1770s up to the turn of the 19th century. English chandeliers had a different selection of glass adornments and their decorative finish, largely determined by the technical options provided by the source material of lead glass (crystal). English chandeliers are typified by the particularly expressive and rich decorative cut of glass details. The boom of English glass chandeliers coincided with Classicism as the dominant art style in Europe and with the fashion for all things English, seen at first in France, then in Germany and later also in Russia. During the 18th century, the entire territory of present-day Latvia was gradually annexed to the Russian Empire; therefore, prevailing trends in architecture and decorative arts were largely derived from the processes in Russia. The craze for all things English is related to the reign of Empress Catherine the Great (Екатерина II, 1729–1796). English culture was also attractive for her long-term favourite Prince Grigory Potemkin (Григо́рий Потёмкин-Таври́ческий, 1739–1791) who purchased several objects of decorative art from the Englishwoman Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston (1721–1788). Two glass chandeliers made in England in the 1770s were among these items. Three English glass chandeliers made in the 1790s were also located in Count Alexander Stroganov’s (Александр Строганов, 1734–1811) palace in St. Petersburg. One could order chandeliers directly from England or buy them in the English goods stores in St. Petersburg. Individual details of glass chandeliers such as beads or glass arms were also exported from England to Russia. Chandeliers assembled in Russia from these imported parts were also known as English chandeliers or the fashionable chandeliers with English glass-beaded strings. English-style chandeliers were also crafted in Bohemia. They were exported not only to different European countries but to England as well. Bohemian-made chandeliers were cheaper and conquered the market quickly. The so-called Northern German lands, including the present-day Latvia, were among the most favourite customers of Bohemian glass items since ancient times. The glass chandelier from Asare Evangelical Lutheran Church is a Bohemian-made English-style piece as well. Its composition and decorative cut of glass details is typical of English glass chandeliers. Particularly English in style are the upper canopy-shaped details and the vase-like, richly cut details strung on the stem of the chandelier. However, the quality of glasswork and the material itself is lower in comparison with chandeliers made in England. Also, the arm plate from which the glass light-bearing arms branch out is made of wood in line with the Bohemian tradition.The landed nobility residing on the territory of present-day Latvia in the second half of the 18th and the early 19th century had little interest in English culture, including the decorative arts. A rare exception was Christoph Johann Friedrich von Medem, also known as Jeannot Medem (1763–1838) who travelled to England and ordered various decorative art objects there. Whether he also bought some English glass chandeliers remains unknown. There is no information that the Asare landlords who were patrons of Asare Evangelical Lutheran Church were interested in England and its decorative arts. The present stone building of Asare Church was built in 1820, financed by the Asare landlord of the time Ernst Christian von Holtey (1761–?). The church interior had retained several 18th century furnishing items. The interior was also supplemented later in the 19th and early 20th century. The Asare Church inventory list drawn up in December 1888 mentions a chandelier as well. Also, the technical condition certificate of the architectural monument prepared by the Architecture Board of the Latvian SSR Council of Ministers in 1952 includes “a glass chandelier – 12 arms”. One can assume this is the same English-style chandelier that was received by the Rundāle Palace Museum from the parish elder in 1975. The dating of the chandelier allows us to assume it was mounted immediately after the completion of Asare Church in the 1820s. The chandelier could have been ordered specially for the needs of the church, or, alternatively, it could have been a chandelier from the manor house that had served its time and was now outdated. This could have happened, for example, in the mid-19th century when the new landlord of Asare Guido von Walther-Wittenheim (1813–1884) reconstructed the manor house and improved the church interior. The English-style glass chandelier probably did not end up in Asare Church because someone deliberately and purposefully followed English late 18th to early 19th century traditions of decorative art. However, it is an example of 18th century English-style chandeliers in a small rural church and evidence of the European-wide fascination with English culture and its decorative arts, purchased and imitated elsewhere too.
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The book review analyses the Latvian version of the catalogue for the exhibition "Wild Souls: Symbolism in the Art of the Baltic States" first held at Musee d'Orsay in Paris (2018) and subsequently in all Baltic capitals.
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The present study sets forth a systematic and thorough research of the five metal engravings: God’s Angel, Death, The Last Judgement, Hell and Heaven accomplished by Monk Rafail from the Neamţ Monastery to decorate the book entitled Uşa pocăinţei [The door of repentance], Braşov, 1812. In order to reveal the content and to decipher the message this study delivers, we have used the comparative method and an interdisciplinary approach. Even if artistically and technically these images prove certain inabilities, they interpose original themes or rarely encountered ones in the early Romanian book graphics. It’s obvious that their sources of inspiration are of occidental type as numerous similarities have been discovered in miniature and engraving (by P. P. Rubens and Corn. Galleus, Abraham Bosse) as well as in painting (Hieronymus Bosch). It has been found out that four engravings in The door of repentance have been used as models by Picu Pătruţ from Săliştea Sibiului, who is considered to be the last important miniaturist in Europe.
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The article Art history and medicine concerns selected aspects of the Medicine in art exhibition, taking place at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków (MOCAK) between 22nd April and 22nd October 2016. The author discusses the issue of medicine with regard to its mechanisms that let us create and perceive art. This reflection includes a historical overview of the “medically-oriented” art research. Another significant aspect constitutes the attempt to explain by the tools associated with neuroaesthetics, why the viewers are likely to look at some drastic images created by artists with such willingness and involvement. The analysis refers to texts by D. Freedberg, V. Gallese, A. Damasio, P. Przybysz, and others. It also includes interpretations of the photohraph Seated anatomical model by Zoe Leonard, as well as the Medical Kit installation by Wilhelm Sasnal.
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A close reading analysis of a brilliant paper devoted to Federico Fellini’s Otto e mezzo written in 1965 by the famous Polish theatrologist, Zbigniew Osiński (1939-2017).
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Like many other artists, Szymanowski was hugely attracted to Italy. In this article, I will briefly expose, firstly, the “Italian” tracks that can be found in the Polish composer’s music, and, secondly, the declarations on Italy in Szymanowski’s writings, in particular on his art and music, trying to relate these elements between them to see what image of Italian culture emerges. I will show how Szymanowski’s cultural environment remains German-based nevertheless looking for the lost unity between man, art and nature in the heritage of the Italian Renaissance.
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In pursuance of the availabe papers and, for the most part, from various letters from Senj and, also, from various pieces of information from old Croatian newspapers between 1835 - 1945, was written an essay on the history of the brass-band from Senj, which was established as far as 1842. It seems that the brass-band from Senj has been one of the oldest musical institutions and societes in Croatia. During the 155 years of its continuance, this brass-band was taking part in all either national, church or city ceremonies, then in occasion of various holidays and in all either public entertainments or art performances. So, this band, by playing specially national pieces of music, encouraged fellow-citizens and neighbouring people (visitors) to endure in those hard times of the struggle for freedom and indipendance of Croatia, thus acquring the epithet of the band of "Senj and Croatia".
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In pursuance of the availabe papers and, for the most part, from various letters from Senj and, also, from various pieces of information from old Croatian newspapers between 1835 - 1945, was written an essay on the history of the brass-band from Senj, which was established as far as 1842. It seems that the brass-band from Senj has been one of the oldest musical institutions and societes in Croatia. During the 155 years of its continuance, this brass-band was taking part in all either national, church or city ceremonies, then in occasion of various holidays and in all either public entertainments or art performances. So, this band, by playing specially national pieces of music, encouraged fellow-citizens and neighbouring people (visitors) to endure in those hard times of the struggle for freedom and indipendance of Croatia, thus acquring the epithet of the band of "Senj and Croatia".
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The article presents the experiences of loss, grief, and mourning endured by Josef Váchal and described by him in his book In memoriam Marie Váchalové (1923). Josef Váchal, who was one of the leading artists of the Czech art in the twentieth century, was a pioneer of printmaking in Czechia, famous for his woodcuts. He was also an interesting painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. While reading, the reader turns from the verbal description to the visual one and back again, since the book combines words and images. It contains 45 colour and 25 black-and-white woodcuts. This is a very personal and intimate confession of pain after the death of the artist’s wife, but also the record of his remorse and guilt for the romance he had in the last years of her life. However, the book also raises important metaphysical questions. Standing watch over the coffin and catafalque, Váchal photographed the dead woman for two days. The photographs became the basis for his woodcuts included in the book. The aim of this activity was not so much to commemorate his wife as to tell the story of the posthumous fate of the soul, which fascinated the artist as a mystic, interested also in the esoteric knowledge and spiritualism. The article deals with questions about the relationship between demonism and holiness, as shown and experienced by Váchal, and about his understanding of death and God.
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This article illustrates the exhibitions and the strategy to enrich the cultural heritage of the National Museum of Banat through acquisitions and gifts during the years 2019-2020, when a large number of objects were registered in the inventories of the Visual Arts Department, of extremely diverse typologies: paintings, sculptures, graphic works, ceramic, glass and metal objects, furniture, textiles and clothing accessories from different periods: portraits from the galleries of the noble families Patyánszky de Viszák, Pálik-Ucsevny de Furluk, and Vukovics de Beregsău, five paintings and one sculpture from the famous Virgil Birou collection, engineer, writer and photographer from interwar Timișoara, the testamentary donation of Marieta Pamfil with 11 art works (6 paintings, 2 graphic works, 3 sculptures) by Ştefan Szőnyi și Andrei Orgonaș, which illustrate the world of Olga Szuits (1911-1992), the mother of Marieta Pamfil and the muse of the painter Ştefan Szőnyi in the interwar period.
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The article presents the history of creation of the Heggir’s drawing or the expulsion of the Benonites from Warsaw which took place 20th June 1808. It’s the only iconographic source of the Redemptorists’ history in Warsaw dating from 1778 to 1808. The drawing is a caricature. It was created by the government to make propaganda. In the article, the caricature is presented by means of a symbol basing on two copies stored in the National Museum in Cracow nowadays. The article describes the role of drawing in spreading the rumour about Benonites among Polish society and in creating the black legend about the Fathers. It had been influencing the literature and historiography for over two centuries. In the article, the history of the copies of the drawing is outlined. The role of Father Bernard Łubieński in saving one of the copies is highlighted.
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In the second half of the 1970s the implementation of new tendencies in the organisation of the scenic space in Moldovan theatrical scenery art continues. Relevant transformations are observed both in the elaboration of the semantic concept of the spectacle and in the methods and means of organising the decor. Thus, a new phase in the development of theatrical art comes into being, directing new solutions of expression in the artistic creation of Moldovan scenography. Concurrently with experienced scenographers like A. Şubin, B. Socolov, and C. Lodzeiski the younger plastic artists N. Andronati, A. Crivoşein, I. Puiu, A. Jeludev, V. Palii, P. Balan, V. Kantor, G. Kantor-Molotov are commencing their work. This generation of professionally trained artists has been able to realise in a practical manner the opportunities emerging at the time. Over the decades, the painters’ dependence on the theater has become more and more evident. Nevertheless, their research continued along the general course of Moldovan scenography development. This was arrived at by virtue of the critique, creativity and significant assimilation of the main achievements of the scenographers in the country, which contributed to a significant increase in theatrical culture. The work of the Moldovan theatrical plastic artists in the second half of the 70s echoed the main processes of the Soviet scenography. Although some subjective factors of the development of theatrical art in the republic influenced the terms and the degree of its manifestation, the Moldovan scenography took its rightful place in the Soviet art, promoting and augmenting its finest scenographic achievements.
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The article analyzes the phenomenon of exhibitions dedicated to comic books, which are displayed in museum and gallery spaces. It presents the theory of contemporary narrative exhibitions. Using some tools of the latest research on the art of exhibition, the author analyzes the status of a comic book in a museum landscape. He reflects on the diversity of the comic book’s presence in everyday practices, the other nature of comic's experience by a visitor, and a link between comic books and other media, especially film. He describes the role of the viewer, who becomes the object in relations with a comic book transformed into a subject as a museum artifact.
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Review of: Paulina Tendera - Sylwia Góra, Ewa Kierska. Malarka melancholii, Universitas, Kraków 2020, ss. 248.
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This article serves to announce the identification of an unknown film of Albanian cinema. The author hypothesizes that in 1940 Geg Marubi photographed the shooting of a film, probably artistic in style, shaped and inspired by motifs from Kolë Idromeno’s famous painting ‘Shkodran Wedding’.
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The purpose of the article is to reveal to which extent the Iron Age Celtic art visualized the metanarrative of the Celtic religion. The methodology is based on the applying of structural and semiotic approaches to the symbols and representations of the Celtic art, which are viewed as components of much more complicated system: the religious and mythological beliefs of the Iron Age Celts. Scientific novelty. The author puts forward an idea that the Early La Tène, Waldalgesheim and Plastic art styles were closely connected to the Celtic beliefs in the afterlife and supranatural powers. Conclusions. The La Tène decorated weapons, drinking vessels and personal ornaments were produced by the artisans who were closely connected to the priesthood. Such artifacts were used as apothropei in the highly ritualized spheres of social life such as war, banquet and burial rite. The author notes that the decline of the Plastic art style was simultaneous with the transformations of the Celtic burial rite which caused the disappearance of the burials during the late La Tène period.
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The author presents three theological interpretations of the chorale fantasy Vor deinen Thron tret’ ich hiermit by Johann Sebastian Bach. David Yearsley, a US musicologist, perceives this work as an example of the Baroque musical practice of ars moriendi, connected with the theology of the cross. To Ann Leahy (d. 2007), a musicologist from Ireland, it is a deeply personal crowning of the eschatological cycle of Leipzig Chorales and an illustration of the Lutheran axiom simul iustus et peccator. In turn, the author of this paper offers a theological-staurological (Gr. stauros – cross) interpretation of Vor deinen Thron.
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