Rule Britannia? History Painting in 18th-Century Britain
Brian Allen looks at how contemporary military and political aspirations and events inspired – or failed to inspire the artists of mid-Georgian Britain.
The dearth of history painting is one of the most remarkable aspects of any survey of British painting between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries and yet art historians have devoted little attention to this phenomenon. Of course, history paintings have almost always been difficult to sell – a form of commercial suicide for both artist and picture dealer alike – amt we have only to glance at some past commentaries for confirmation.
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