Customer Reviews

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

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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.