Description
Book SynopsisMichelangelo was one of the biggest international art stars of his time, but being Michelangelo was no easy thing: he was stalked by fans, lauded and lambasted by critics, and depicted in unauthorized portraits. Still Lives traces the process by which artists such as Michelangelo, Durer, and Titian became early modern celebrities. Artists had been
Trade ReviewShortlisted for the 2016 Art Book Prize, Authors' Club "In this fascinating publication, Loh (Univ. College London) employs a variety of strategies and material (20th-century French deconstruction; 21st-century vernacular and digital terms; cross-period parallels among artists and works; primary sources; the close study of paintings, drawings, prints, books, letters, medals, and sculpture) to make early modern artist self-portraits and their portraits painted by other artists accessible to contemporary readers... Loh's immersive readings of these works of art are original, detailed, nuanced, and often quite passionate, frequently emphasizing the vulnerability of artists and the difficulty of their work."--Choice "[A] powerful and sometimes troubling book."--Giles Waterfield, Burlington Magazine "[An] impressive book... In the world of social media saturated with Facebook and selfies, we may think that in 'managing our profile' we are shaping our portrait. After reading Maria Loh's engaging new study, one will never look at a portrait in the same way, much less believe that we exercise control over the potency and malleability of our image."--William E. Wallace, Renaissance Quarterly
Table of ContentsUSER'S GUIDE ix Getting Started ix Basics xv Advanced Features xvi Troubleshooting xix FAQs xx Credits xxi I. THE TREACHERY OF IMAGES 1 Me, Myself, and I 1 Losing Face (Damnatio Memoriae) 19 Face Value 30 Bad Hair Days 41 II. THE ARTIST'S BODY OF WORK 56 Body of Work 56 The Long Good-bye 60 Noli Me Tangere / Ostentatio Vulnerum 73 Not in a Good Place 87 All That Remains (Vestigium) 100 III. EXQUISITE CORPSE 113 The Pleasure of Disegno 113 Daydreamers in Plato's Cave 125 The Action Hero's Journey 135 The Exquisite Corpse 155 IV. A BODY TOO MUCH 171 Historical Fiction 171 Distant Voices, Still Lives 174 A Temple for All Gods 183 A Ghost Is Born 198 Science Fiction 207 POST/FACE 226 Notes 235 Bibliography 273 Image Credits 293 Index 295
