Description
Book SynopsisMelancholy is not only about sadness, despair, and loss. As Renaissance artists and philosophers acknowledged long ago, it can engender a certain kind of creativity born from a deep awareness of the mutability of life and the inevitable cycle of birth and death. Drawing on psychoanalysis, philosophy, and the intellectual history of the history of a
Trade Review"Enchanting."--Holland Cotter, New York Times "Nostalgic and plaintive, this title's examination of the work of art historians is an enjoyable literary exercise that will foster discussion among art historians and their students."--Library Journal "To consider melancholy in art beyond the limits of despondency, loss, and grief is a refreshing way to induce a different space and energy between the past of the artwork and the viewer's present. In these erudite essays, art historian Michael Ann Holly makes case for works of art--'these beautiful orphans'--that reinvest in melancholia as the signifier and the signified."--Greta Aart, Cerise Press "In support of her argument, Holly marshals a wealth of erudition indicative of formidable trans-historical, interdisciplinary expertise... With the utmost refinement, Holly's own poetic resonance echoes from artful analogy and suggestive imagery."--Giovanna Costantini, Leonardo Reviews "While the driving power of melancholy remains unclear, many readers will be intrigued by this highly personal take on the profession."--Choice "Holly's elegant and thoughtful book focuses on the encounter of the viewer with the work of art."--Kathryn Murphy, Apollo Magazine "Exemplary."--Ivan Gaskell, Brooklyn Rail "The Melancholy Art is both an apt embodiment of contemporary disciplinary conundrums and a deeply moving account of one art historian's personal attempt to reckon with the impossibility - the futility - of 'closing the gap between words and images.'... Holly clearly exemplifies both senses of the term in this memorable and indeed rather haunting text... The value of The Melancholy Art is precisely in simultaneously manifesting such a conundrum and in refusing to fall into the fundamentalist trap of either attributing or denying real agency to artworks. All our 'art history' books should be so brave."--Donald Preziosi, CAA Reviews
Table of ContentsPreface xi Acknowledgments xxiii 1 The Melancholy Art 1 2 Viennese Ghosts 25 3 Stones of Solace 53 4 Patterns in the Shadows 73 5 Mourning and Method 95 Postscript 117 Notes 133 Bibliography 165 Index 183
