Landseer

Estelle May HurllProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 99K words
Chapters: 10

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Landseer by Estelle M. HurllAuthor: Hurll, Estelle M. (Estelle May), 1863-1924,Language: English, Class: ND: Fine Arts: Painting, Release Date: Jul 15, 2010

Editor's review

This is a short critical biography of the English painter Edwin Landseer by the art critic Estelle M. Hurll, issued as a public-domain eBook by Project Gutenberg. Landseer was renowned for animal painting, especially for depicting the expressions and feelings of dogs, horses and other creatures, and was widely popular in the Victorian era. The book does not attempt a detailed chronological biography but instead comments on the painter's representative subjects and creative characteristics, functioning both as a guide to the works and as an analysis of style. For readers who want an initial understanding of the nineteenth-century British animal-painting tradition, or who need a concise introductory work on an artist, the book is moderate in length and clear in its lines of discussion, and can serve as background reading before visiting an exhibition or looking through a picture album. It should be noted that the book was written early, and its critical tone reflects the aesthetic tastes of its time; readers should weigh it against today's art-historical perspective and not treat it as a contemporary academic monograph.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Introductory readers who want an initial understanding of Landseer and British animal painting
Museum-goers who need background knowledge before visiting an exhibition or browsing a picture album
Readers interested in nineteenth-century British art and critical writing style
Art enthusiasts who need a concise artist biography as supporting material

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking in-depth research monographs of contemporary academic standard
Readers expecting high-resolution plates and a complete catalogue of works
Readers sensitive to the critical tone of the Victorian era

Reading tips

Reading alongside images or albums of Landseer's paintings makes for a better experience.
Read the critical discussion first to grasp the painter's characteristic subjects, then return to the analyses of specific works.
Distinguish the period evaluations in the book from today's art-historical views and maintain a critical eye.
The book is not long and is suitable for reading in two or three sittings with brief notes.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Does this book include images of paintings?

This is a written critical biography focused on discussing the painter's subjects and style; it is not primarily a plate collection. For a direct visual impression, it is advisable to read it alongside an album of Landseer's works or museum resources.

What subjects did Landseer mainly paint?

Landseer was famous for animal painting, especially for depicting dogs, horses and other animals, and was skilled at expressing their expressions and feelings; he was widely popular in Victorian Britain. This book discusses precisely these representative subjects.

Is the critical stance of this book outdated?

The book was written early, and its discussion carries the aesthetic tastes and discursive habits of its time, differing from contemporary academic perspectives. Readers may read it as a period document while consulting today's art-historical works for comparison.

Comments

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About the author

Estelle May Hurll Author · American · 1863–1924

Estelle M. Hurll (1863–1924) was an American writer on art, born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. She graduated from Wellesley College, where she later taught ethics. She then turned to writing about art for a general readership, producing a series of accessible guides to appreciation that discussed artists such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Correggio, Reynolds and Jean-François Millet, and also treated Greek sculpture, child life in art and the Madonna in art. Thirteen of her works are held in this collection, mostly classed under inspirational and personal growth. Her plain, approachable style encourages readers to understand both the form and the feeling of works of art, and her books played a modest part in early twentieth-century American art education.