Propaganda and the Jesuit Baroque (Ahmanson Murphy Fine Arts Imprint) [Hardcover]

Evonne Levy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520233573 | ISBN-13: 978-0520233577 | Publication Date: April 14, 2004 | Edition: 1

In this provocative revisionist work, Evonne Levy brings fresh theoretical perspectives to the study of the "propagandistic" art and architecture of the Jesuit order as exemplified by its late Baroque Roman church interiors. The first extensive analysis of the aims, mechanisms, and effects of Jesuit art and architecture, this original and sophisticated study also evaluates how the term "propaganda" functions in art history, distinguishes it from rhetoric, and proposes a precise use of the term for the visual arts for the first time.
Levy begins by looking at Nazi architecture as a gateway to the emotional and ethical issues raised by the term "propaganda." Jesuit art once stirred similar passions, as she shows in a discussion of the controversial nineteenth-century rubric the "Jesuit Style." She then considers three central aspects of Jesuit art as essential components of propaganda: authorship, message, and diffusion. Levy tests her theoretical formulations against a broad range of documents and works of art, including the Chapel of St. Ignatius and other major works in Rome by Andrea Pozzo as well as chapels in Central Europe and Poland. Innovative in bringing a broad range of social and critical theory to bear on Baroque art and architecture in Europe and beyond, Levy's work highlights the subject-forming capacity of early modern Catholic art and architecture while establishing "propaganda" as a productive term for art history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

[A] compelling achievement, recalling Mendelsohn's response on first hearing Schubert : ' Hats off, gentlemen, a genius '."--Jrnl of Ecclesiastical History

"Provocative and insightful. . . . [Provokes] a discussion well beyond the normal reaches of Early Modern scholarship on the history of art."--Caa Reviews

"Learned and imaginative. . . . The author brings . . . the nuances that only wide and deep knowledge of actual works of art can provide."--Catholic Historical Review

From the Inside Flap

"This is a subtle, intelligent, and deeply learned recasting of a whole range of issues central to art history: the place of the Baroque in the construction of modern art histories; the peculiar aesthetics of propaganda as a distinctively institutional mobilizing of images and forms; the role of the Jesuits in constructing (and then deconstructing) the relation of architectural style and ideology. Evonne Levy's careful readings of key monuments in the Catholic Baroque shed light not only on those works, but on the whole evolution of art historical understanding--and misunderstanding--that has made the Baroque so central and problematic for the discipline of art history."--W. J. T. Mitchell, editor of Critical Inquiry and author of Iconology and Picture Theory

"One of the most original and provocative books in the field of Baroque studies to emerge in the last twenty years, Propaganda and the Jesuit Baroque at once presents a wealth of new materials and radically rethinks what has long been known about the Jesuit Order as a patron of the arts. Through the lens of propaganda, Evonne Levy illuminates her subject in an unprecedented way."--Steven F. Ostrow, author of Art and Spirituality in Counter-Reformation Rome

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 353 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (April 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520233573
• ISBN-13: 978-0520233577
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,230,682 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Art History Beyond the Renaissance, July 25, 2005

By 

T. Shoup (Los Altos, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Propaganda and the Jesuit Baroque (Ahmanson Murphy Fine Arts Imprint) (Hardcover)

This art history book, suitable for undergraduates and accessible by anyone with a college course or self taught in art history, taught me new things. One new thing was that the meaning of the word "propaganda" has changed over time. Applied to a portion of the Catholic church in the 17th century, the College of the Propaganda was formed by Pope Gregory XV to oversee foreign missions. By the middle of the 19th century the common noun had come to mean any association, systematic scheme, or concerted movement for the propagation of a particular doctrine (OED). Nowadays it has a mostly negative connotation. So the Baroque propaganda referred to in Prof. Levy's book is the message of the church conveyed through art, not a negative value judgement by the author about that message.

Another thing I learned was the use of multiple forms of art as propaganda. Before I understood the older definition of propaganda I instinctively thought of written works only. But early in the book Prof. Levy demonstrates how various factions through history have used visual art and architecture as part of the delivery of their particular doctrine.

This book is not light summer or airplane reading. But the reader interested in extending their view of art history who is willing to read carefully and thoughtfully, and maybe even go to a reference or two, will enjoy this book.