Aaron Slodounik. Review of "The Deaths of Henri Regnault" by Marc Gotlieb.

  • Aaron Slodounik
  • CAA Reviews, December 2017, College Art Association
  • DOI: 10.3202/caa.reviews.2017.190

It's a review of a new book on the nineteenth-century French Academic painter, Henri Regnault.

What is it about?

Regnault practiced his art during the liberal regime of the Second Empire; however, he died during the Franco-Prussian war and his history was written during the Third Republic’s “moral order”. The review questions the effectiveness of the strategies used by the author and their relevance to our current moment -- the “law and order” climate of the Trump administration.

Why is it important?

The essay asks: How do we write art history in our current political moment?

Perspectives

Mr Aaron Slodounik
City University of New York System

I hope that the text inspires others to critically evaluate the claims that art historians and other scholars make in their texts. Spending time with Gotlieb's primary sources led me to question many of his assertions and propose new alternatives.

Read Publication

http://dx.doi.org/10.3202/caa.reviews.2017.190

The following have contributed to this page: Mr Aaron Slodounik