THOMAS EAKINS' ARTISTIC TRAINING, 1860-1870.

Format:

Book

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

MILROY, ELIZABETH LAMOTTE CATES.

Contributor:

University of Pennsylvania.

Subjects (All):

Art.

Biography.

0304.

0357.

Local Subjects:

0304.

0357.

Physical Description:

440 pages

Contained In:

Dissertation Abstracts International 47-10A.

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

text file

Summary:

Investigations into the early career of Thomas Eakins have long been plagued by inaccuracy and inconsistency because of the lack of original contemporary testimony from the artist and his closest associates. The recent recovery of several dozen original letters and documents written by and to Thomas Eakins during his four years of art study in Europe, from 1866 to 1870, makes possible the correction of longstanding misapprehensions and necessitates a reappraisal of this critical period in the artist's career.

The aim of this dissertation is to introduce and organize these newly-found primary sources with a view to analyzing the history and context of Eakins' professional development, first in Philadelphia, where he received his initial artistic training, and second, in the ateliers and museums of Europe, whither Eakins travelled to complete his studies. His letters reveal Eakins to have been a well-informed observer of modern art and artists, one who joined the community of art students at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris with enthusiasm and happily followed the conventional pattern of schooling. Though usually reticent to describe his thoughts on art and creativity on paper, Eakins was a well-informed student of his profession, willing to absorb the concepts and lessons of teachers as disparate as Jean-Leon Gerome, Thomas Couture and Herbert Spencer. But Eakins' progress in his practical studies was slow and it was only after his return to America that he was able finally to synthesize the lessons he had learned from his French masters in such powerful images as The Champion Single Sculls. Indeed, the greatest lesson he had learned in Europe was not technical but personal, for it was there that Eakins encountered individuals who exemplified the assertive and ambitious self-image he knew he would need to succeed as an artist in America.

Notes:

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-10, Section: A, page: 3596.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1986.

Local Notes:

School code: 0175.

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.