Monographic Exhibitions and the History of Art

This edited collection traces the impact of monographic exhibitions on the discipline of art history from the first examples in the late eighteenth century through the present. Roughly falling into three genres (retrospectives of living artists, retrospectives of recently deceased artists, and monographic exhibitions of Old Masters), specialists examine examples of each genre within their social, cultural, political, and economic contexts. Exhbitions covered include Nathaniel Hone’s 1775 exhibition, the Holbein Exhibition of 1871, the Courbet retrospective of 1882, Titian's exhibition in Venice, Poussin's Louvre retrospective of 1960, and El Greco's anniversaty exhibitions of 2014.

Table of Contents








List of Illustrations and Illustration Credits





Preface





Introductory





Monographic Exhibitions and the History of Art


Maia Wellington Gahtan, Donatella Pegazzano





I. Living Artist Retrospectives





1. 'Nathaniel Hone's 1775 Exhibition: The First Single-Artist Retrospective'


Konstantinos Stefanis





2. The Degas and Cassat 1915 Exhibition in Support of Women's suffrage


Ruth E. Iskin





3. Braque, Gris and Leger: Cubism in Switzerland in 1933


Kate Kangaslahti



4. Bacon at Grand Palais: Echoes and Influences


Monika Keska





II. Posthumous Retrospectives





5. The First Posthumous Retrospective in France: The Paul Delaroche Exhibition, a New Perception of the Artist's Work


Marie-Claire Rodriguez





6. Max Jordan's First Monographic Exhibitions at the Royal National Gallery in Berlin - Rewriting the Canon of Art History and Creating the Artist as a National Role Model at the Beginning of the German Empire


Saskia Putz





7. The Courbet Retrospective of 1882. Harbinger of the Artist's first Major Monograph and Catalogue Raisonne


Petra ten-Doesschate Chu





8. The Critical Reception of Marcello Tommasi's Oeuvre and the Tommasi Family's Artistic Legacy


Elisa Gradi





III. Old Master Monographic Exhibitions from before World war II





9. The Holbein Exhibition of 1871 - An Iconic Turning Point for Art History


Lena Bader





10. 'This is the answer to those who tell us that Reynolds was a snob': The Grosvenor Gallery Exhibition of Works by Joshua Reynolds (1883 - 1884)


Camilla Murgia





11. The Master and Siena: the 1912 Duccio exhibition


Elisa Camporeale





12.The Twelve Days of Bartolomeo della Gatta (Arezzo, October 1-12, 1930). A Regional Exhibition of an Old Master during the Era of Fascism


Luca Pezzuto





13.Titian's 1935 Exhibition in Venice


Giuliana Tomasella





IV. Old Master Monographic Exhibitions after World War II





14. Poussin in Perspective: The Louvre Retrospective 1960 Above and Beyond
Henry Keazor





15. Rembrandt and the Polemical Monographic Exhibition: 'Rembrandt, the Master and His Workshop' in Amsterdam, Berlin and London in 1991-92
Catherine B. Scallen





16. Exploring Michelangelo through Exhibitions. Closer to the Master, Closer to the scholar, Closer to the Public


Silvia Catitti





17. 'Canaletti' and the others. Recent Monographic Exhibitions of Venetian Veduta Painters: Art History and the Market


Heiner Krellig





V. Monographic Exhibitions and the 21st century





18. El Greco and the Dynamics of Retrospection in Monographic exhibitions for the Anniversary of his Death in 2014


Livia Stoenescu





19. Past Institution's Future: Monographic Exhibitions and Tate Modern's Make-up


Evi Baniotopoulou





20. The Rise of the Monographic Exhibition: The Political Economy of Contemporary Art


Ronit Milano





Afterword


Afterword: Learning from the Artist's Monograph: Anarchy, Quality, and the Ultimate Noumenon


Gabriele Guercio





Epilogue


Epilogue: Some Curatorial Thoughts on the Monographic Exhibition


Joaneath Spicer





Bibliography





Biographical Notes on the Contributors





Index