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Franz Anton Maulbertsch (1724-1796) was an Austrian fresco painter known for his bold use of color. Although he has been recognized in the Central European regions where he worked, Maulbertsch has remained outside the general canon of art history. With Painterly Enlightenment, Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann recovers the story of Maulbertsch, offering the first comprehensive English-language study of the long-neglected artist.

Kaufmann situates Maulbertsch as a fresco painter at a time of transition to easel painting, a colorist at a time when color was not fully appreciated by contemporary observers, and an interpreter of religious themes at a time when secular subjects were becoming more popular. In this analysis, he is shown caught between the intellectual forces of the Enlightenment and the waning power of the traditional church, thus helping to illuminate the relationship between the Enlightenment and the arts. Kaufmann provides a thorough foundation for the fresh recognition of one of the great painters of eighteenth-century Europe, a leading fresco painter who is a colorist worthy of comparison to the best of his contemporaries, including the celebrated Venetian artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Too much enlightenment ...
Kaufmann acknowledges as one of his central aims to introduce Franz Anton Maulbertsch to art historians outside Central Europe, who are, he says, not yet sufficiently aware of his outstanding achievements. A good idea, he thinks, to make him palatable to newcomers is to disperse the aura of 'strangeness' surrounding him - "The present book", he says, "aims to make the apparently strange seem familiar." To me, this seems all wrong - who, e.g., would try to proselytize for Goya by playing down the sheer extravagance of his imagaination and trying, so to speak, to domesticate him? And do believe me, Maulbertsch, in his most visionary moments is in his own peculiar way not far behind Goya, and thus the very thing to do to make his claims to the pantheon of art history truly convincing would be to celebrate Maulbertsch's strangeness and exuberant fancy.

Kaufmann, sadly, has for most of the time a quite different aganda. He focuses on the way Maulbertsch was influenced by enlightenment, the rise of neo-classicism and all the concomitant theories; that is, he 'familiarizes' him by linking him to certain intellectual debates of his times. But unfortunately these were influences that on the whole forced Maulbertsch to rein in his more imaginative sallies undin many cases - especially in large-scale fresco painting - diluted his artistic capabilities. How a great painter of the 2nd half of the 18th century, trained in the school of late baroque extravaganza, tried to come to terms with the emerging ideas of clarity, sobriety and dignity, makes of course a fascinating story, but as the focus of a beginner's guide to Maulbertsch is does not seem particularly suitable. Art historians conversant with the wider horizons of Central European painting might even point out that some of Maulbertsch's colleagues achieved better results when trying to strike a compromise between Baroque training and the neo-classicist demands of the day. The merits of later Maulbertsch have always been a point of some controversy; his dazzling virtuosity in the early stages of his career has never been seriously doubted by anyone looking into his oeuvre.

To what extent Maulbertsch got involved in late 18th century debates is, by the way, a terrain well trodden over in German language Maulbertsch scholarship. Perhaps it is not surprising that so many scholars have set their hearts on it and that Mr Kaufmann has been eager to join their rank: You can fill quite a lot of pages by going lovingly over all those contemporary theories, programmes and reviews that make up the 'discourse' sourrounding late Maulbertsch (or should I rather say the 'discursive haze'?), whereas it is much harder to untangle the various threads that have gone into creating the unique stylistic bravura of Maulbertsch in his heyday.

Still, you might fo course argue that it is good thing to bring Maulbertsch to the notice of the English speaking world at all; and after all there are lots of illustrations (covering all stages of Maulbertsch's career), some of which might indeed make the reader fall in love with Maulbertsch's strangeness in spite of Mr Kaufmann's attempt to tame and civilize him. Regrettably, quite a few of the pictures are of such staggeringly poor quality that it is hard to understand how they could possibly be compatible with the standards to be expected from a unviersity press; pictures that look as if they had been printed in some East European backwater town of the 1960s. ... Read more

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Can the Austrian School contribute to other economic schoolsof thought? This collection reveals the unexpected methodologicalsimilarities and philosophical interrelationship between Hayekianthought and Marxist and neoclassical theories. Unique in its approach,Austrian Economics in Debate seeks to initiate and establish a patternof cross-fertilization between Austrian and ostensibly competingparadigms in contemporary economics. Contributors include LelandYeager, Steve Fleetwood, Lawrence Moss and Richard Ebeling. ... Read more

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Fin-de-siècle Vienna remains a central event in the birth of the century's modern culture. Our understanding of what happened in those key decades in Central Europe at the turn of the century has been shaped in the last years by an historiography presided over by Carl Schorske's Fin de Siècle Vienna and the model of the relationship between politics and culture which emerged from his work and that of his followers. Recent scholarship, however, has begun to question the main paradigm of this school, i.e. the "failure of liberalism."

This volume reflects not only a whole range of the critiques but also offers alternative ways of understanding the subject, most notably though the concept of "critical modernism" and the integration of previously neglected aspects such as the role of marginality, of the market and the larger Central and European context. As a result this volume offers novel ideas on a subject that is of unending fascination and never fails to captivate the Western imagination. ... Read more

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For centuries, Vienna had been the imperial residence and capital of the great multi-lingual, multi-national Habsburg Empire, and thus a magnet for the accumulation of power, prestige, wealth, and beauty. However, it is self-evident that not everyone could or should reside in the capital, that many talented authors, whether by choice or by chance, lived outside that glamorous city, in Kafka s words, far from the Imperial sun.
At the outset of the twenty-first century, with technological advancements in transportation and communication with international publishing houses and chain bookstores, with e-mail and the Internet, for example is there any social, political, economic, or professional advantage to residing in Vienna, or has it become irrelevant today where artists live? Are their life experiences notably different, whether they reside in the capital or in any other city, large or small? Are authors choices of language or themes influenced by their provincial backgrounds? Thus the idea of Beyond Vienna a compelling and timely topic.
This volume will attempt to address these questions, while serving as an introduction to nine authors poets, novelists, and dramatists and their relationships to the capital: Xaver Bayer, Alois Brandstetter, Gloria Kaiser, Christine Lavant, Anna Mitgutsch, Felix Mitterer, Elisabeth Reichart, Vladimir Vertlib, and Friedrich Ch. Zauner. The contributors are respected scholars who were personally invited to join this project and who ultimately determined which authors would be included. ... Read more

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Factors that changed the course of history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Very original, often deep, not universal
Zweig writes, without ever being verbose, about twelve events he finds momentous.The translation is superb.The events tend to be centered around central Europe, or Europeans, which is why I wrote "not universal."In any case, who could definitively select the twelve most important moments ever?The description of the people involved is searching and severe when needed, and the motivation for choosing them usually convincing; these people had "big lives" and Zweig has a passion for his fellow humans.The book is often a page-turner, and the reader is rapidly exposed to a wide range of experiences.I enjoyed every story.

An unduly neglected writer
Zweig is a writer who once was among the most popular in Europe. He is one of the great literary biographers. He has great narrative power and his work has a quality which I think might be called ' intellectual suspense' He can make ideas and moments of history live. I have found that reading his works is a very pleasurable and enriching experience.

An Outstanding Historical Book
This book is not outstanding just because it gives valuable information about the historical events or characters but also for describing events like a story-teller. The book has 12 topics for different historicalcharacters or events. All of them are marvelous. But especially, the partthat describe the death of Tolstoy as a drama just made me write thisreview. This is the best historical book that I have ever read. ... Read more

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Unification of Austria and Germany in 1938 was the fulfillment of the dreams of all Germans. With this union, for the first time the ancient German tribes were peacefully united under one government, with the free consent of 99.7% of the Austrian voters. In the wake of the previous Contemporary History in Color Series comes this new title filled with sensational color photos showing the unification. Among the many photos are: Hitler in Vienna; Linz and Graz; Hitlerjugend; SA; Police; The Armed Forces; the rejoicing masses everywhere along the route of the German Fuherer's path. German Language book, with photo captions translated into English on a separate translation sheet enclosure. This is a large format book nearly all in color, with most photos being full-page or gate-fold. ... Read more

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At the beginning of the twenty-first century the demand for anthropological approaches, understandings and methodologies outside academic departments is shifting and changing. Through a series of fascinating case studies of anthropologists' experiences of working with very diverse organizations in the private and public sector, this volume examines existing and historical debates about applied anthropology. It explores the relationship between the "pure and the impure" - academic and applied anthropology, the question of anthropological identities in new working environments, new methodologies appropriate to these contexts, the skills needed by anthropologists working in applied contexts where multidisciplinary work is often undertaken, issues of ethics and responsibility, and how anthropology is perceived from the 'outside'. The volume signifies an encouraging future both for the application of anthropology outside academic departments, and for the new generation of anthropologists who might be involved in these developments. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Postage
The text is great and provides valuable insights into the world of applied anthropology. The disappointing factor relates to the vacuum packaging of the book. This damaged its spine and means the book will always have a slightly odd appearance as well as some annoying 'waves'. ... Read more

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This book argues for the originality of Carl Menger's contribution to the development of the Austrian School of economics, against the dominant orthodoxy in the history of economic thought. ... Read more

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This book intends to renovate the view of social sciences in the German-speaking world. It explores the intellectual tension in the social science in Austria and Germany in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. It deals with how the emergence of the new school (Austrian School) changed the focus of social science in the German speaking world, and how it prepared the introduction of an evolutionary perspective in economics, politics, and sociology. Based on (mostly hitherto unknown) primary evidence, this development is lively described in a series of encounters and decisions by each social scientists.

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General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1859Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

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Founded in 1965 by R. John Rath, the Austrian History Yearbook remains the only English-language journal devoted to the history of the territories in Central Europe that were formerly under Habsburg rule and now comprise the modern states of Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, and parts of Italy, Poland, Ukraine, and Romania. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the search for stability in the former Eastern bloc has brought an upsurge of interest in the region's Habsburg heritage. ... Read more

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Chapters: Otto Neurath, Neusiedl Am See, Meidling, Concert Band, Stephen Heller, Weitersfelden, Austria at the 1994 Winter Olympics, Bunzl, Jewish Cemetery, Ludwig Greiner, Güssing, Long War, Inzersdorf, Austria at the 1924 Summer Olympics, J. A. Baczewski, Nathan Birnbaum, Gmunden, Austria at the 1928 Winter Olympics, List of Counts of Austria-hungary, Herman Francis Mark, Joseph Škoda, Mattersburg, Eugene Von Guerard, Judenburg, Harrach, Margarete Hilferding, David Josef Bach, Kalksburg, Uherské Hradišt?, Neubau, Bettelheim, Reichsrat, Eduard Van Der Nüll, West Galicia, Holy Alliance, Austria at the 1980 Summer Olympics, Sms Admiral Spaun, Treaty of Schönbrunn, Karl Von Ordóñez, Schiffschul, Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops, Wieden, Principality of Auersperg, Šternberk, Sms Novara, Austromarxism, Gödöll?, Joseph Von Sonnenfels, Hildegard Burjan, Austria at the 1998 Winter Olympics, Gradisca D'isonzo, Otto Bauer, Rechnitz, Vicki Baum, Arnolt Bronnen, Wilhelm J. Sluka, Gustav Bergmann, Umberto de Morpurgo, Laxenburg, Klöße, Kobersdorf, Zwettl, Lackenbach, Battle of Santa Lucia, ?astolovice, Hofkriegsrat, Treaty of Breslau, Starhemberg, Samuel Siegfried Karl Von Basch, Isaac Tyrnau, Federation of Independents, Leopoldstädter Tempel, Burgenland Local Elections, 2007, Order of Leopold, Witold Leon Czartoryski, Jacob Hutter, Grafschaft Ortenburg, Abraham Epstein, Duchy of Salzburg, Burgruine Starhemberg, Austria at the 1972 Summer Olympics, Leithaprodersdorf, Deutschkreutz, Erd?dy, Frauenkirchen, Carl Heitzmann, Artaria, Peace of Vasvár, Fritzi Massary, Deutsche Einheitskurzschrift, Hofmann Von Hofmannsthal, Joseph Unger, Lavant, Tyrol, Count Franz Philipp Von Lamberg, Baron Raimund Von Stillfried, Felix Lichnowsky, Spittal an Der Drau, Wolf Pascheles, Austrian Presidential Election, 1992, Sima, Deštná, Sms Sankt Georg, Edler, Lichtenwörth, Angern an Der March, Bruck an Der Leitha, Austria at the 1924 Winter O...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=659150 ... Read more