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| 5. How would our analyses change if we
knew more about the date, engravers, designers, producers, merchants
and distribution of the images in question? What do the images reveal
about class or gender? What can the style and rendering of an image
disclose about the political ideology or psychological predisposition
of the engraver, printer, or patron? How might one get at the intent
of the image makers compared to the reading produced by contemporary
viewers. |
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The
Importance of Supporting Information Wayne Hanley,
6-6-03, 9:50 AM |
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the
need for more knowledge Lynn Hunt,
6-23-03, 11:16 PM |
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on
the need for more knowledge Barbara Day-Hickman, 7-3-03, 4:12
PM |
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A
different perspective Warren Roberts, 7-9-03,
1:33 PM |
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reading the image Vivian
Cameron, 7-26-03,
1:45 PM |
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| Subject: |
on the need
for more knowledge |
| Posted
By: |
Barbara Day-Hickman |
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| Date
Posted: |
7-3-03, 4:12
PM |
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In this study
of revolutionary prints on-line, it is frustrating to
bypass the material object. Part of the pleasure of working
with art material is the opportunity of touching, viewing,
and evaluating the object itself. By examining the paper,
ink, color and the quality of the engraving application,
scholars can appreciate the aesthetic as well as textual
content of an image. Furthermore, with a magnifying glass
it is often possible to discern the names of the printer,
artist/engraver in a discrete corner of the print and
discover a political seal or date that identifies the
year of publication. But practically speaking, with the
exception of some private collections, such access is
no longer generally possible. Instead, current scholars
are obliged to work primarily with either photo reproductions
or microfilm from large collections such as those at
Bibliothèque Nationale. There is no doubt that
researchers have benefited from the videodisc collection
on revolutionary imagery from the BN. But as Lynn and
Wayne indicate, without contemporaneous evidence in the
form of advertisements, business archives, notary, or
censorship records, it is difficult to place visual material
in any specific ideological or historical context. Furthermore,
because of the controversial nature of many revolutionary
themes, provenance and date are not always apparent in
the composition.
Beyond the scholarship of the former director of the
Cabinet des Estampes, Jean Adhémar, few scholars
have done extensive work on printers in eighteenth-century
Paris much less their relationship to other European
firms. As Lynn suggests, such comparative studies of
printers and/or visual themes could provide important
data about specific engravers, the circumstances surrounding
the production of their work, and some idea about their
virtual audience. I would also recommend that further
traditional or comparative studies be done on printing
firms from the rue St. Jacques (including their relationship
to less known provincial or international firms) to
provide a more viable historical base for the interpretation
of revolutionary imagery.
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