View the H-Islamart Discussion Logs by month
View the Prior Message in H-Islamart's October 2009 logs by: [date] [author] [thread] View the Next Message in H-Islamart's October 2009 logs by: [date] [author] [thread] Visit the H-Islamart home page.
I am very pleased to announce the publication of my book: Fous du Caire, Excentriques, architectes et amateurs d’art en Égypte (1867-1914). Montpellier (France): L’Archange Minotaure, 2009 A presentation of the book will take place on Thursday 15 October 2009, at 5:00 pm at Institut national d’histoire de l’art, Vasari hall (Second floor),Galerie Colbert - 2, rue Vivienne – Paris – 75002 (entrance through 6, Petits Champs St) In connection with the seminar « <http://www.inha.fr/spip.php?article2739> Architecture et décor en terre d’islam, représentations européennes (1820-1920) » Abstract Based on a large body of unpublished material, both visual and textual, kept in public and private archives, the book narrates and illustrates a still little-researched aspect of the Franco-Egyptian cultural encounter : the tremendous curiosity and concern raised, from the mid-19th century onwards, by Cairo’s monumental architecture. The focus is placed on kee figures among a series of French antiquarians, as well as local amateurs, that viewed « medieval » Cairo as the « capital of Arab art » and devoted their time and energy to its study, preservation and enhancement. The text explores the varied ways that led an uneven, and somehow eccentric, group of architects, dilettanti, collectors, scholars and writers, to develop a passionate interest in Cairo’s Islamic monuments from the 1860s to the 1910s. It highlights the categorizations and theories instigated by such taste, evokes the objects collected, and depicts the architectural revivals and aesthetic environments that came out of it, both in Egypt and in France. It touches indeed upon the erratic public reception of these conceptual and artistic endeavors. The inquiry is driven by a will to understand the scientific and artistic, even anthropological, mechanisms, that gave substance and strength to the relentless pursuit of « Arab art » on either sides of the Mediterranean during the period under scrutiny. hardcover, 304 pages, 174 illustrations in color and b&w, isbn: 978-2-35463-039-3, 69 euros Publisher : L’Archange Minotaure, September 2009. Contact for reviews : presse@archange-minotaure.com Best regards, Prof. Mercedes Volait Senior researcher at CNRS Director of InVisu Institut national d’histoire de l’art, Paris http://invisu.inha.fr
|