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The Mask of Venice Masking, Role-play, andthe Construction of Identity in the Art of Tiepolo and His Circle James Steward and George Knox The Mask of Venice looks at the mask, both literal and figurative, as a way of approaching the rich artistic production of 18th-century Venice. Timed to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the birth of Giambattista Tiepolo, the book explores the visual representation of masking as a metaphor for disguise and freedom in the otherwise rigidly controlled society of the time. Moving from images of masking in Venetian society, to the derivation of the mask from the commedia dell'arte, to the use of theatrical devices both to hide and reveal character in the visual arts, The Mask of Venice studies the social world as well as the world of artistic imagination. This trajectory through the liberation of the mask ultimately allows us to unmask, at least in part, the often mysterious work of Tiepolo himself. James Christen Steward is curator and assistant director for programs and collections at the Berkeley Art Museum. He is the author of The New Child: British Art and the Origins of Modern Childhood, 1730-1830. George Knox is professor emeritus of art at the University of British Columbia and the author of numerous publications on Venetian art. University Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive January. 120 pp., 100 duotone illus., bibliog., 9" x 12" |
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