Martin Myrone

One of the most visible, popular, and significant artists of his generation, William Hogarth (1697–1764) is best known for his acerbic, strongly moralising works, which were mass-produced and widely disseminated as prints during his lifetime. This volume is a fascinating look into the notorious English satirical artist’s life, presenting Anecdotes of William Hogarth, Written by Himself — a collection of autobiographical vignettes supplemented with short texts and essays written by his contemporaries, first published in 1785.

Exploring the myths and realities of the origins of the “modern artist” in Britain The artist has been a privileged figure in the modern age, embodying ideals of personal and political freedom and self-fulfillment. Does it matter who gets to be an artist? And do our deeply held beliefs stand up to scrutiny? Making the Modern Artist gets to the root of these questions by exploring the historical genesis of the figure of the artist. Based on an unprecedented biographical survey of almost 1,800 students at the Royal Academy of Arts in London between 1769 and 1830, the book reveals hidden stories about family origins, personal networks, and patterns of opportunity and social mobility. Locating the emergence of the “modern artist” in the crucible of Romantic Britain, rather than in 19th-century Paris or 20th-century New York, it reconnects the story of art with the advance of capitalism and demonstrates surprising continuities between liberal individualism and state formation, our dreams of personal freedom, and the social suffering characteristic of the modern era.Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

In a career that ranged over a turbulent era in European history, William Blake (1757-1827) produced one of the most singular and intense body of works in the history of art. Neglected and misunderstood in his lifetime, his extraordinary paintings, poetry and prints now enjoy an international reputation. Technically innovative, strikingly original, and highly personal in their symbolism, his images are both powerfully immediate in their effects and challenging in their complexity. His visual interpretations of the Bible, the poetry of Milton and of Dante, and his unique 'illuminated books', demonstrate a fervid invention and a searching intellect that have entranced generations of admirers. "The Blake Book" provides a thorough introduction to the life and work of this complex figure and draws on the vast array of contemporary scholarship, providing a clear-headed overview of Blake's writings and paintings.Exploring the context of his art and life, his symbolism, techniques and critical reputation, and presenting his own writings on art and artists, "The Blake Book" is the essential guide to this extraordinary figure.

This original book explores the radical transformation of the heroic male body in late eighteenth-century British art. It ranges across a period in which a modern art world was established, taking into account the lives and careers of a succession of major figures—from Benjamin West and Gavin Hamilton to Henry Fuseli, John Flaxman and William Blake—and influential institutions, from the Royal Academy to the commercial galleries of the 1790s.Organized around the historical traumas of the Seven Years’ War (1756–63), the War of American Independence (1775–83) and the French Revolution and Revolutionary Wars (1789–1815), Bodybuilding places the visual representation of the hero at the heart of a series of narratives about social and economic change, gender identity, and the transformation of cultural value on the eve of modernity. The book offers a vivid image of a critical period in Britain’s cultural history and establishes a new framework for the study of late-eighteenth-century art and gender.

Painter, poet, critic and teacher, Henry Fuseli (1741-1825) is one of the most idiosyncratic and original figures in the history of British art. His work has always been the subject of speculation, gossip and fantasy. This book offers a completely new interpretation of the artist, placing him firmly in the context of a period of traumatic social, cultural and political revolution. Martin Myrone explores his career from his early work in London and Rome to his old age, the period of his greatest professional success when he exerted a profound influence on a whole generation of younger British artists. A vivid image of the artist emerges, revealing Fuseli as a seminal figure in the development of modern art.