Reviews for The Englishness of English Art: An Expanded and Annotated Version of the Reith Lectures Broadcast in October and November 1955

The average rating for The Englishness of English Art: An Expanded and Annotated Version of the Reith Lectures Broadcast in October and November 1955 based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-02-15 00:00:00 Glen Shepard Any book on national characteristics can quickly degenerate into stereotypes and easy cliches, and this book does have a few of those, but overall the author is able to draw some fascinating insights into the English by looking at how they express themselves in English art. In one part, the author delves into the subject of English comedy and finds that it insinuates itself into English art even against many artists fondest wishes. Sir Joshua Reynolds loved the austere classics and the Renaissance, founded the Royal Academy of Art in 1768 to propagate these, and urged all aspiring painters' to imitate the great Italians. Yet when he finally saw Raphael's painting of the School of Athens he could only paint a parody of it with faux British connoisseurs in the place of Socrates and his students. Horace Walpole spent eons building his Gothic-style castle yet then was able to mock his own creation as a monastic-style retreat. English illuminated manuscripts excelled above all in their marginalia, or babwyneries, and pictures of elves and mutants often surrounded some biblical text of the most serious matter. Even political cartooning arose first in England in the 18th century, long before it became common in other nations. The British throughout their art history have maintained an amazing sense of bemused detachment from even weighty subjects. And along with this sense of detachment went a keen interest in everyday life. While Italian painters and German composers sought grand themes and tragedies, the English had Hogarth cataloging Gin Lane. When Germany and Italy were experimenting with the Roccoco in architecture, English returned to the everyday domestic architecture of the Gothic and Tudor styles. And while the rest of Europe was embarking on increasingly abstract modernism, English painters stayed close to the simple landscape style of Constable, or, at its most extreme, Turner and Whistler. There are lots great insights here. It is a little heavy on the architecture if one's not interested in that sort of thing, but it is definitely a worthwhile read.

Review # 2 was written on 2015-03-28 00:00:00 Laura Wilson Pevsner being Pevsner. He uses various examples to show the key traits of Englishness. Obviously the visual arts are influenced by geography and climate. Hogarth represents the "observed life" with his depictions of everyday life. Reynolds gives us detachment and Blake shows the use of the elongated curved line. Constable and the water colourists offer us landscapes and "atmosphere". There is of course the perpendicular style of architecture and in more recent times landscape gardening and planning. Henry Moore is his favourite example of an English sculptor. Pity the illustrations (particularly paintings) had to be in black and white.