Description

Book Synopsis
This is the first English translation of French art critic Quatermere de Quincy's controversial series of letters about the removal of antiquities from Rome and Athens. In the 1790s and early 1800s, the art world experienced two big events: First came the military confiscation of masterpieces from Italy and northern Europe in order to build a universal museum in Paris' Louvre. Then famous marble sculptures were prised from the Parthenon and sent to London. These events provoked reactions ranging from enthusiastic applause to enraged condemnation. The French art critic, architectural theoretician, and political conservative Quatremere de Quincy was at the centre of the European debates. In his pamphlet "Letters to Miranda", he condemns the revolutionary hubris of putting "Rome in Paris" and urges the return of the works. In the "Letters to Canova", however, Quatremere celebrates the British Museum for making the Parthenon sculptures accessible. Quatremere's writing was highly controversial in its time. This book offers the first English translation of the two series of letters, as well as a new critical introduction.

Letters to Miranda and Canova on the Abduction of

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    A Paperback / softback by Antoine Quatremere de Quincy, Dominique Poulot, Chris Miller

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      Book details

      Publisher Getty Trust Publications
      Published 5 June 2012
      ISBN-13 9781606060995
      978-1606060995
      ISBN-10 1606060996
      Also in:
      Forgery History of art

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      This is the first English translation of French art critic Quatermere de Quincy's controversial series of letters about the removal of antiquities from Rome and Athens. In the 1790s and early 1800s, the art world experienced two big events: First came the military confiscation of masterpieces from Italy and northern Europe in order to build a universal museum in Paris' Louvre. Then famous marble sculptures were prised from the Parthenon and sent to London. These events provoked reactions ranging from enthusiastic applause to enraged condemnation. The French art critic, architectural theoretician, and political conservative Quatremere de Quincy was at the centre of the European debates. In his pamphlet "Letters to Miranda", he condemns the revolutionary hubris of putting "Rome in Paris" and urges the return of the works. In the "Letters to Canova", however, Quatremere celebrates the British Museum for making the Parthenon sculptures accessible. Quatremere's writing was highly controversial in its time. This book offers the first English translation of the two series of letters, as well as a new critical introduction.

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