Abstract
In early 19th century, the Louvre Museum grew to unimaginable size and depth of European art through annexation and loot. The collections brought together the continent’s most celebrated artworks and reproductions of the museum holdings in fine prints made the artworks accessible far beyond the walls of the museum. The print albums Le Musée Français, produced by private initiative, published over 300 engravings after the Louvre holdings. The print reproductions and accompanying scholarly articles translated historical art in a modern aesthetic and for a contemporary audience. The success of the publication was imminent. The albums entered private and public art collections, libraries, trade schools throughout Europe and collections in European colonies. In 1816, the Portuguese monarchy, establishing political and cultural dominance in Brazil, invited a group of French artists to establish an art education program in Rio de Janeiro. The Musée Français albums, brought to Brazil, played an important new role in cultural affairs: European art in prints became a tool of colonial glorification and cultural repression. The multiplicity and portability of prints allowed for the private art project to emerge as a political tool reinforcing ideas of cultural hegemony on a global scale.
Presenters
Susanne Anderson RiedelAssociate Professor and Department Chair, Art, University of New Mexico, New Mexico, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2024 Special Focus—Traveling Concepts: The Transfer and Translation of Ideas in the Humanities
KEYWORDS
Printmaking, Translation of Artistic Ideas, Transnational and Interdisciplinary Culture
