Italian Culture in Northern Europe in the Eighteenth Century (Cambridge Studies in Italian History and Culture) - Softcover

Review of the hardback: 'This book is a landmark in a field which invites wider investigation.' The Times Literary Supplement

Review of the hardback: ' ... a novel interdisciplinary take on a hitherto partially-studied field ... West's volume raises issues and themes which will long prove relevant.' Rodney Palmer, The Art Book

This was the first multi-disciplinary study of the dissemination of Italian culture in northern Europe during the long eighteenth century (1689-1815). The book covers a diverse range of artists, actors and musicians who left Italy during the eighteenth century to seek work beyond the Alps in locations such as London, St Petersburg, Dresden, Stockholm and Vienna. First published in 1999, the book investigates the careers of important artists such as Amigoni, Canaletto and Rosalba Carriera, as well as opera singers, commedia dell'arte performers and librettists. However, it also considers key themes such as social and friendship networks, itinerancy, the relationships between court and market cultures, the importance of religion and politics to the reception of culture, the evolution of taste, the role of gender in the reception of art, the diversity of modes and genres, and the reception of Italian artists and performers outside Italy.