Nocturne : night in American art, 1890-1917 / Hélène Valance, translated by Jane Marie Todd.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Valance, Hélène, author.

Contributor:

Class of 1891 Department of Arts Fund.

Todd, Jane Marie, 1957- translator.

Standardized Title:

Nuits américaines. English

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

Night in art.

Light and darkness.

Vision.

Art, American--19th century.

Art, American.

Art, American--20th century.

Local Subjects:

Art, American--19th century.

Art, American--20th century.

Vision.

Light and darkness.

Night in art.

Genre:

Catalogs.

Physical Description:

242 pages : color illustrations ; 29 cm

Place of Publication:

New Haven, CT : Yale University Press, [2018]

Summary:

"The turn of the twentieth century witnessed a surge in the creation and popularity of nocturnes and night landscapes in American art. In this original and thought-provoking book, Hélène Valance investigates why artists and viewers of the era were so captivated by the night. Nocturne examines works by artists such as James McNeill Whistler, Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, Frederic Remington, Edward Steichen, and Henry Ossawa Tanner through the lens of the scientific developments and social issues that dominated the period. Valance argues that the success of the genre is connected to the resonance between the night and the many forces that affected the era, including technological advances that expanded the realm of the visible, such as electric lighting and photography; Jim Crow-era race relations; America's closing frontier and imperialism abroad; and growing anxiety about identity and social values amid rapid urbanization. This absorbing study features 150 illustrations encompassing paintings, photographs, prints, scientific illustration, advertising, and popular media to explore the predilection for night imagery as a sign of the times."--Book jacket

Contents:

Acknowledgments

Introduction. Part 1 Antivisions: the redefinition of vision by science and technology : A paradoxical aesthetics

The image in crisis: vision questioned by science and technology

The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction

Visions of the mind and spirit. Part 2 Heart of darkness: the nocturne as metaphor for racial difference : Inverted light: the nocturne in the age of imperialism

Vanishing Indians: nostalgic reminiscence and haunting presence

A blueblood landscape: the nocturne as white art in Jim Crow America. Part 3 Landscape reconfigured: urban nocturnes : Contrast, confrontation, and spectacle: the alterity of urban nights

Shadow presences: the figure in the urban landscape

The urban nocturne and the redefinition of the American landscape. Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Illustration credits.

Notes:

"Originally published as Nuits américaines: l'art du nocturne aux États-Unis, 1890-1917."--Colophon

Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-234) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Class of 1891 Department of Arts Fund.

ISBN:

0300223994

9780300223996

OCLC:

1005106160