Geography of the Gaze: Urban and Rural Vision in Early Modern Europe [Paperback]

Renzo Dubbini (Author), Lydia G. Cochrane (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0226167372 | ISBN-13: 978-0226167374 | Publication Date: April 15, 2002 | Edition: 1

Geography of the Gaze offers a new history and theory of how the way we look at things influences what we see. Focusing on Western Europe from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, Renzo Dubbini shows how developments in science, art, mapping, and visual epistemology affected the ways natural and artificial landscapes were perceived and portrayed.

He begins with the idea of the "view," explaining its role in the invention of landscape painting and in the definition of landscape as a cultural space. Among other topics, Dubbini explores how the descriptive and pictorial techniques used in mariners' charts, view-oriented atlases, military cartography, and garden design were linked to the proliferation of highly realistic paintings of landscapes and city scenes; how the "picturesque" system for defining and composing landscapes affected not just art but also archaeology and engineering; and how the ever-changing modern cityscapes inspired new ways of seeing and representing the urban scene in Impressionist painting, photography, and stereoscopy. A marvelous history of viewing, Geography of the Gaze will interest everyone from scientists to artists.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[Dubbini aims] to explore how technological advances in science, art, mapping and visual epistemology from the 17th to the 19th centuries affects the way the landscape was perceived and what it might be expected to tell us through mariner’s charts, atlases, military cartography and views from garden design.”--Art Newspaper

(Art Newspaper )

Praise for the Italian edition:

            "Brilliant and inspiring. . . . We go from the natural to the artificial scene, from map-making to landscape painting, from travelers'' tales to geological exploration, from the discovery of the Alps to the discoveries of ancient Egypt, from the microcosm of the garden to the metropolis, from journeys by carriage to those by rail or even in balloons."--Enrico Castelnuovo, Il Sole

(Enrico Castelnuovo Il Sole )

"A valuable study of the connection existing between vision and the history of landscape at the outset of the modern age via those unique kinds of spatial documents, such as landscape paintings, photographs of places, city maps and plans."--Marco Belpoliti, Il Manifesto

(Marco Belpoliti Il Manifesto ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Inside Flap

Geography of the Gaze offers a new history and theory of how the way we look at things influences what we see. Focusing on Western Europe from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, Renzo Dubbini shows how developments in science, art, mapping, and visual epistemology affected the ways natural and artificial landscapes were perceived and portrayed.

He begins with the idea of the "view," explaining its role in the invention of landscape painting and in the definition of landscape as a cultural space. Among other topics, Dubbini explores how the descriptive and pictorial techniques used in mariners' charts, view-oriented atlases, military cartography, and garden design were linked to the proliferation of highly realistic paintings of landscapes and city scenes; how the "picturesque" system for defining and composing landscapes affected not just art but also archaeology and engineering; and how the ever-changing modern cityscapes inspired new ways of seeing and representing the urban scene in Impressionist painting, photography, and stereoscopy. A marvelous history of viewing, Geography of the Gaze will interest everyone from scientists to artists.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (April 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226167372
• ISBN-13: 978-0226167374
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,661,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely book about landscape and vision, May 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Geography of the Gaze: Urban and Rural Vision in Early Modern Europe (Paperback)

This book is a real gem. It's history, and it explains better than anything I've read how people actually looked at things and perceived them in the sixteenth through early nineteenth centuries. In particular, Dubbini focuses on how the landscape was perceived and how it seemed to change as it became increasingly interrupted by towns and cities. He explains how "the glance" evolved in relation to the relative anonymity and isolation of city life. And he discusses how these changes in "looking" inevitably affected what was chosen to be painted and how it was accomplished. He also looks at how advances in mapmaking and new scientific technologies (including photography) have impacted the way we see. This is an invaluable book, and, considering that it is quite erudite, a pleasure to read. Unusual illustrations, too.