The innovative approach and masterly editing of this first volume of a series on the nineteenth century, makes it a valuable work of reference.
[Neo-Classicism / 1780-1814] Neo-Classicism seen through its interrelationship with the various figurative arts, and the relationship of the latter to literature, theatre, decoration and costume art. The introduction by Carlo Sisi sets out the main points of the theoretical debate on the institutions and the various Neo-Classical aesthetic trends. It is followed by four large sections devoted to painting genres – historical, portrait, landscape, religious – sculpture, the architectural landscape, and the sister arts: literature, theatre, decoration and costume. Sisi’s unifying vision of nineteenth-century style and culture comes across strongly in the three “atlases” that take the reader on a guided tour with the help of brief comments on the iconographic themes, ranging from “Gli interni borghesi” to “L’arredo dinastico”, “Revival etrusco”, “L’ideale sacro”, “Paesaggi tra idea e natura” and “La morte dell’eroe”.