The nineteenth century is relatively close to our own times, which is possibly why we know so little about it. How is one to write about the art of the nineteenth century? How will it appear to us when we reveal its essence? An answer to these questions is supplied by In Praise of Painting, a collection of essays by Maria Poprzęcka, an expert on the period.
The book is a collection of articles on nineteenth-century painting. Part I comprises essays defining the ways we perceive the art of the nineteenth century. In this section, the author focuses on problems of evaluation, origins, borrowings and parallels and considers questions faced by art historians discussing these issues. Another theme is the language employed by the history of art, its character and its connections with other areas of life, particularly the language of politics. Poprzecka reflects on the relationship between a draft and a completed work, as well as on the criteria for their evaluation. She discusses problems faced by art historians such as periodization and attribution. This theoretical model becomes a basis for the argument presented in the second chapter, which discusses the image of a master, the works of Courbet, Manet and Matejko. Two of the essays are devoted to Polish female artists, their position in the world of art and choices they had to make. The volume closes with an essay on Polish painting at the turn of the twentieth century, considered to be the most significant period in its history.
- Maria Poprzęcka
In Praise of Painting / Pochwała malarstwa
Wydawnictwo słowo/obraz terytoria, Gdańsk 2000
167 x 220, 308 pages, illustrations, hardcover
ISBN 83-88560-10-7