New Book | Höfische Bäder in der Frühen Neuzeit
From De Gruyter:
Kristina Deutsch, Claudia Echinger-Maurach, and Eva-Bettina Krems, eds., Höfische Bäder in der Frühen Neuzeit: Gestalt und Funktion (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2017), 360 pages, ISBN: 978 311050 1681, 80€.
Despite the dread of miasmas and puritanical beliefs, the bath was always an integral element of early modern courtly culture, but it has been insufficiently researched until now. The essays in this volume [Courtly Baths in the Early Modern Period: Design and Function] cover the architecture, equipment, functions, and the culture of the court bath as reflected in the visual arts. The focus is on the importance of the bath for representing a specific understanding of dominance and aristocratic life.
Trotz Angst vor Miasmen und Sittenstrenge war das Bad stets ein fester Bestandteil der frühneuzeitlichen Hofkultur. Bislang wurde er jedoch nicht umfassend untersucht. Die Beiträge widmen sich der Architektur, Ausstattung und Funktion von Schlossbädern seit der italienischen Renaissance bis zur Französischen Revolution. Komplexe ikonographische Deutungen und vielfältige Antikenbezüge in Architektur und Ausstattung veranschaulichen den hohen Anspruch des höfischen Bades. Neben noch bestehenden oder rekonstruierbaren Räumen geht es auch um Darstellungen in den Bildkünsten, wie etwa in den Gemälden der Dames au bain. Im Fokus steht die Rolle des Bades als Ausdruck des höfischen und adeligen Lebens, eines Herrschafts- und Machtanspruchs und von dessen Legitimierung.
I N H A L T S V E R Z E I C H N I S
Kristina Deutsch, Claudia Echinger-Maurach, Eva-Bettina Krems, Baden im Schloss? Eine Einführung in die Kunstgeschichte des höfischen Bades
Teil I: Zwischen Therme, Hamam und stufetta: Die Entstehung des frühmodernen Bades
• Hubertus Günther, Badekultur in der italienischen Renaissance
• Jens Niebaum, „I bagni così son da ordenare“: Vitruv, die balnea und die Architekten der Renaissance
• Sabine Frommel, Sebastiano Serlios „padiglione al costume di Franza“ in Fontainebleau und sein Beitrag für die Entwicklung der Badekultur am französischen Hof
• Stephanie Hanke, Zwischen Orient und Okzident: Bäder und Badekultur in Genua im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert
Teil II: Von der Kinderstube zum Alterssitz: Die Inszenierung fürstlicher Macht im Bad
• Anne Bloemacher, Das erste Bad Maximilians I. in der Historia Friderici et Maximiliani
• Kristina Deutsch, „Balnea, vina, Venus corrumpunt corpora nostra“? Die Badstube der Burg Trausnitz in Landshut
• Sophie Mouquin, „Cet appartement est dédié à la magnificence, & fait une des sept merveilles de Versailles“: Das Appartement des bains Ludwigs XIV. in Versailles
• Jan Pieper, Das Fürstenbad im Palazzo Ducale von Sabbioneta (1554–1591)
Teil III: Heimliche Blicke und dynastische Quellen: Die Symbolik höfischer Frauen- und Männerbäder
• Margot Thun-Rauch, Die Badewanne der Philippine Welser: Gesundheit und Genuss
• Sigrid Ruby, Macht und Ohnmacht des Privaten: Die Gemälde der dames au bain
• Ilaria Hoppe, Baden in Florenz: Kunst, Körper und Medizin
• Vera Herzog, Baden für die Dynastie: Die Symbolik des fürstlichen Badepavillons am Beispiel der Łazienka in Warschau und der Münchner Badenburg
Teil IV: Schaubäder? Funktionen des Schlossbades zwischen Rekreation und Politik
• Claudia Echinger-Maurach, „Mona Lisa im Bade“: Das Appartement des bains in Schloss Fontainebleau
• Antje Scherner, Ein Bad ohne Wasser? Das Marmorbad in Kassel und die Kasseler Bäder der Frühen Neuzeit
• Guillaume Nicoud, Le bain de Catherine II au Palais d’hiver de Saint-Pétersbourg
• Ralf Richard Wagner, Die „Maison de bain“ des Kurfürsten Carl Theodor von der Pfalz
Abbildungsnachweise
Tafelteil
Exhibition | Epic Tales from Ancient India
The Demon Dhumraksha Leads His Army, North India, Kulu or Bahu, ca. 1700–10; opaque watercolor on paper (The San Diego Museum of Art, Edwin Binney 3rd Collection, 1990.1107).
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Press release from the Blanton:
Epic Tales from Ancient India: Paintings from The San Diego Museum of Art
Princeton University Art Museum, 19 November 2016 — 5 February 2017
Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, 9 July — 1 October 2017
The San Diego Museum of Art, 3 March — 12 June 2018
One of the most comprehensive collections of South Asian paintings outside of India will be on display at the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin from July 9 to October 1, 2017. These dynamic images were originally associated with important literary and religious texts and will be organized according to thematic narratives. Museum visitors will be introduced to the epic stories that continue to hold great cultural value in India and beyond.
Rama and Sita Enthroned, ca. 1800; opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 24.7 × 18.5 cm (The San Diego Museum of Art, Edwin Binney 3rd Collection).
“The Blanton is honored to partner with The San Diego Museum of Art to bring this remarkable collection to Austin,” said Blanton director Simone Wicha. “The epic stories have much to say about courage, loyalty, love and friendship, and the paintings themselves impress with the delicacy of their technique, the boldness of their design, and the humanity of the stories they convey. This exhibition is sure to delight audiences of all ages.”
Epic Tales from Ancient India: Paintings from The San Diego Museum of Art represents the highest achievement of court paintings from several regions of the Indian subcontinent from the 16th to the 19th centuries and have been selected from the renowned Edwin Binney 3rd Collection of The San Diego Museum of Art. This exhibition depicts stories that have been integral to South Asian culture for hundreds of years and provides a compelling introduction to classic Indian and Persian texts, including Bhagavata Purana, a Sanskrit text about the Hindu god Vishnu and his different incarnations; Ramayana, the adventures of Prince Rama of Ayodhya; Ragamala, a text that explores various modes in Indian classical music; and works of Persian literature, including Shahnameh, an epic poem about the legendary kings of Iran. The colorful manuscripts depict dutiful heroes, loyal friends, and strong-willed women, and each character serves as an instructive model in. Dangerous beasts, cunning adversaries, and assorted demons must be confronted and subdued. Battle scenes teeming with combatants give way to quieter moments, such as lovers meeting for a secret tryst. Many of the stories have religious significance and show the intervention of various divinities in maintaining cosmic order.
Complementing the paintings will be examples of Chola-period processional bronze images, Vishnu and Hanuman, on loan from the Kimbell Art Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art, respectively. These works hint at Hindu ritual practices and highlight the religious significance of the narratives.
Ray Williams, who leads the Blanton’s education efforts and serves as the managing curator for this exhibition, has a deep appreciation for India’s cultural expressions through story and image. “The struggle for cosmic order in the face of dark forces and fulfilling one’s duty with courage and integrity, are ongoing human concerns. The paintings invite us to plunge into Rama’s world, for example, and readily join in the quest to rescue Sita from the ten-headed, mustachioed, demon king and his frightful army,” said Williams.
A series of public programs will complement the exhibition, featuring gallery talks, musical demonstrations, classical Indian dance, and storytelling performances.
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The catalogue is distributed by Yale UP:
Marika Sardar, with contributions by Neeraja Poddar, Qamar Adamjee, and Alka Patel, Epic Tales from Ancient India: Paintings from The San Diego Museum of Art (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017), 164 pages, ISBN: 978 03002 23729, $45.
Exploring the topic of narrativity in Indian art, this beautiful and deeply researched book considers illustrations to the Bhagavata Purana, the Ramayana, the Ragamala, and a range of texts in the Persian language, notably the Shahnama. Featuring stunning reproductions of paintings made between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries from the Edwin Binney 3rd Collection at The San Diego Museum of Art, the publication includes thorough and fascinating explanations of the narrative of each text, including how that narrative is visually conveyed. Essays examine why these particular stories are so enduring, why patrons may have chosen to have a copy of a particular text made for their own collections, and how artists responded to the challenge of creating new versions of venerable classics.
Marika Sardar is Associate Curator of Southern Asian and Islamic art at The San Diego Museum of Art. Neeraja Poddar is the Mellon Fellow at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Qamar Adamjee is Associate Curator of South Asian and Islamic art at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco. Alka Patel is Associate Professor of South Asian and Islamic Art at the University of California at Irvine.
New Book | The Anatomy of Color (or Colour)
From Thames & Hudson:
Patrick Baty, The Anatomy of Colour: The Story of Heritage Paints and Pigments (London: Thames & Hudson, 2017), 352 pages, ISBN: 978 05005 19332, $50.
Why were primary colors popular in postwar kitchens? Why did the Art Deco era prefer clean lines and pastel shades? This comprehensive illustrated history of the use of color and paint in interior decoration answers these questions and many more.
Drawing on his huge specialist archive, historian and paint expert Patrick Baty traces the evolution of pigments and paint colors together with color systems and standards, and he examines their impact on the color palettes used in interiors from the 1650s to the 1960s. He charts the creation in paint of the common and expensive colors made from traditional earth pigments between 1650 and 1799. He then explores the emergence of color systems and standards and their influence on paint colors together with the effect of industrialized production on the texture and durability of paints. Finally, Baty turns his attention to twentieth-century color standards. Woven throughout the authoritative and revealing text are specially commissioned photographs of pages from rare color reference books. Reproductions of interiors from home decor books, dating from every era, are included throughout, highlighting the distinctive color trends and styles of painting particular to each period.
Patrick Baty is a historian of architectural paint and color. He works as a consultant in the decoration of historic buildings and runs the family paint business Papers and Paints in London. He lectures and contributes regularly to magazines and journals.
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