Art as Spectacle: Images of the Entertainer Since Romanticism - Hardcover

"A rich and fascinating book, comparative in the fullest sense, which has much to offer almost any professional or amateur student of European literature or of the graphic or performing arts."--Comparative Literature

Why do images of entertainers abound in European literature and art since Romanticism? From Baudelaire to Picasso, from Daumier to Fellini, mimes, clowns, aerialists and jesters recur in major works by continental artists. In "Art as Spectacle", Naomi Ritter investigates this phenomenon and offers explanations that transcend the array of works discussed. Her analysis implies much about the triangle of creator, work and audience that inevitably controls all art. Three aspects of the artist's relation to the performer - identification, transcendence and primitivism - define Ritter's thematic focus. With three chapters on literature, a chapter comparing poetry and painting and a chapter each on dance, the visual arts and film, "Art as Spectacle" offers much material on comparative studies.