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French Sculpture Following the Franco-Prussian War, 1870–80

Realist Allegories and the Commemoration of Defeat

Michael Dorsch author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:8th Nov '10

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

French Sculpture Following the Franco-Prussian War, 1870–80 cover

French Sculpture Following the Franco-Prussian War, 1870-80 investigates the role played by the trope of the 'strong woman, fallen man' in re-establishing morale among the French people following the Franco-Prussian War. The study explores how certain French sculptors - including Falguière, Mercié, Barrias, and Rodin - presented this recent history of defeat in commemorative monuments that increasingly dominated public space across France during the final decades of the nineteenth century. Though it focuses on French nationalism and the commemoration of war (or, as is the case with the French following the Franco-Prussian War, the commemoration of defeat), this volume also examines shifts in gender roles in the latter half of the nineteenth century, and the impact of military defeat on relations between the sexes. The book probes the aesthetic discourse of the period concerning the merits of traditional allegorical sculpture versus new-fangled realist sculpture in depicting modern life. Drawing on extensive archival research, Michael Dorsch gives a voice to the sculptures he discusses, restoring these often ignored works to their proper place in history.

'Dorsch's book does a great deal to shed light on the complexity of late-nineteenth-century French sculpture and its contexts, deepening the ways in which the significance of sculptors such as Mercié and Falguière should be understood.' David Getsy, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA

ISBN: 9781409403524

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 453g

220 pages