Premium
The Emergence and Impact of the ‘Complete Drawing Book’ in Mid‐Eighteenth‐Century E ngland
Author(s) -
HSIEH CHIACHUAN
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal for eighteenth‐century studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.129
H-Index - 11
eISSN - 1754-0208
pISSN - 1754-0194
DOI - 10.1111/1754-0208.12009
Subject(s) - hierarchy , embodied cognition , cultural phenomenon , phenomenon , commodity , perception , assimilation (phonology) , history , visual arts , sociology , media studies , art , political science , social science , linguistics , epistemology , law , philosophy , economics , market economy
The emergence of the ‘complete drawing book’ in mid‐eighteenth‐century E ngland was a remarkable phenomenon. Launched by print sellers as a new educational commodity, this particular type of drawing book exhibited both commercial acumen and cultural ambition by presenting a comprehensive programme to satisfy public desire for drawing instruction. It also embodied a subtle process of cultural assimilation and influence. Various kinds of pictorial model were assembled from diverse sources and organised in a way that visualised the ‘hierarchy of genres’. The complete drawing books thus played a role in shaping public perception of what constituted art within that hierarchy.