The correspondences between literature and the fine arts were one of the dominant fields of study in eighteenth-century aesthetic thought, and the versatile theoretical deliberations were complemented by numerous practical attempts to combine the ‘sister arts’. Literary works depended on ‘painterly’ means of expression (descriptions, landscapes, typographies), whereas contemporary artists would not only elaborate on literary themes but also apply narrative methods of representation (cycles of paintings, illustrations, graphic pamphlets). When aesthetic thought in general, and the ideas put forward by G.E. Lessing in particular, started to undermine the ‘sister art’ theory, pointing to its limits and methodological inaccuracies, its practical implications remained largely undiminished. At the turn of the century, along with the coming of Romanticism, the ideal of a total work of art was conceptualised. It advocated a synthesis of the arts, which was believed to guarantee the most powerful artistic effect. The Victorian period, in turn, saw on the one hand a rapid development of novel writing, and consequently the art of illustration, and on the other one, the glittering careers of multi-skilled artists who managed to successfully combine poetry and painting (the Pre-Raphaelites).
This workshop will hopefully be an occasion to investigate in detail the various inter-relationships between word and image in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain. [More in WLM 4th.]
This workshop will hopefully be an occasion to investigate in detail the various inter-relationships between word and image in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain. [More in WLM 4th.]
