Netherlands Yearbook For History Of Art / Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 62 (2012): Meaning In Materials: Netherlandish Art, 1400-1800 (PDF)

By: Ann-Sophie Lehmann and Frits Scholten and H. Perry Chapman

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Synopsis: Works of art are material and materials have meaning. They determine form, style, and effect and are often chosen intentionally by artists to convey artistic ideas and reinforce expressive effects. An artist's choice of materials both limits and opens up technical possibilities. Depending on their geographical occurrence, rarity or composite nature, materials are valued, compared and imitated; processes that stimulate innovation in the arts. Materials are also charged with manifold cultural connotations, conveying power, beauty, splendor or humbleness. Despite the richness of the topic, the relation between meaning and materials has been neglected in the past. This volume of the Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek strives to redress this lacuna, highlighting important links between visual and material culture. The essays written by a number of international, renowned scholars approach a variety of materials in their particular historical, cultural and technological settings, uncovering new and surprising meanings in alabaster, oil paint, glass, wood, stone, copper, ebony, paper, and snow.