Painting Religion in Public: John Singer Sargent's Triumph of Religion at the Boston Public Library.
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,History & Criticism
Painting Religion in Public: John Singer Sargent's Triumph of Religion at the Boston Public Library. Details
From Library Journal Sometimes you can't win for losing in the art world. John Singer Sargent contributed immensely to the technique of portraiture, yet his portraits have been criticized for their lack of psychological insight. Likewise, he devoted his final 30 years to enhancing Boston's civic arena through a mural series at the Boston Public Library, the Boston Museum of Art, and Harvard. At the time, critics called these murals mere decoration at best. Here, Promey (art and archaeology, Univ. of Maryland) focuses on the public library murals, placing the work in its historical context. Sargent, she argues convincingly, hoped to create a ritualized, democratic intellectual space. But given the cultural climate, his choice of a religious allegory for the mural was a grave mistake. The book's only shortcoming lies in its visual reproductions: illustrations are small, black-and-white, and hard to "read." With the murals scheduled for renovation and several Sargent exhibitions just ending, readers are likely to show some interest in this title. Recommended for larger public libraries and libraries specializing in art history.ANadine Dalton Speidel, Cuyahoga Cty. P.L., Parma, Ohio Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more Review "Painting Religion in Public is a brilliant book, meticulously crafted, engaging, and challenging. It is full of marvelous insight and a deeply matured sensitivity to Sargent, his experiences, and his art. Sally Promey does a splendid job protecting the genuine ambiguities and contradictions in Sargent's views and in the realization of his plans for Triumph of Religion. Her ability to weave together historical, cultural, visual, and biographical resources without imposing a false unity gives authoritative restraint to her arguments while allowing her enthusiasm and sympathy for the project and the man to come through clearly. This is a truly wonderful work."―Ellen Smith, American Jewish Historical Society"With very impressive intellectual range, Promey deftly interprets the imagery in the context of diverse social, religious, and cultural currents in nineteenth- and twentieth-century America, and Boston in particular. Painting Religion in Public will instantly become and remain the definitive study of its subject."―David Morgan, Valparaiso University"Winner of the Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion in Historical Studies, American Academy of Religion""A dense and dazzling must-read."---Christine Temin, Boston Globe"It is most refreshing to have Sargent's mural projects taken seriously at last, and Promey must be congratulated on producing a richly researched, book-length study addressed to one of them."---Mary Crawford Volk, Burlington Magazine"Promey's thorough study of the contexts of and reactions to this most ambitious of Sargent's projects is not only timely but most welcome . . . .[Her] analysis of the multi-layered and religious attitudes and practices, patriotism, and sociological currents during the three decades of the installation of the murals is intricate and masterful . . . will undoubtedly become the definitive scholarly study of this complex series of murals."―Marianna M. Archambault, Religion and the Arts"Painting Religion in Public is a full retelling of the story behind one of the most ambitious and, in its own era's eyes, most important public art monuments in the United States. Sally Promey establishes this importance through a thorough exploration of documentary materials, her creative use of these documents, and a wide-ranging inquiry into both the art and the religious culture of that time and place. Readers in many fields will find the text rewarding."―Marc Simpson, Bibliography of the History of Art, Getty Research Institute"Painting Religion in Public is a tightly framed study, a model of scholarly argumentation leavened with methodological self-consciousness . . . , [It] offers a powerful example of the impact that the study of visual culture can make as an important contribution to many disciplines as fine art and other forms of visual imagery are woven back into the fabric of social, cultural, political, and religious life."---Daniel A. Siedell, Church History"By addressing the importance of the visual, Promey's book makes a valuable contribution to an aspect of religion that is often neglected. Promey's integration of American history, art history, religious history, and ritual studies, combined with her meticulous archival research, will help scholars in several disciplines understand the complex cultural currents underlying Sargent's mural project."---Paula Kane, Journal of the American Academy of Religion"A fascinating new book." (The New York Times) Read more From the Inside Flap "With very impressive intellectual range, Promey deftly interprets the imagery in the context of diverse social, religious, and cultural currents in nineteenth- and twentieth-century America, and Boston in particular. Painting Religion in Public will instantly become and remain the definitive study of its subject."--David Morgan, Valparaiso University"Painting Religion in Public is a brilliant book, meticulously crafted, engaging, and challenging. It is full of marvelous insight and a deeply matured sensitivity to Sargent, his experiences, and his art. Sally Promey does a splendid job protecting the genuine ambiguities and contradictions in Sargents views and in the realization of his plans for Triumph of Religion. Her ability to weave together historical, cultural, visual, and biographical resources without imposing a false unity gives authoritative restraint to her arguments while allowing her enthusiasm and sympathy for the project and the man to come through clearly. This is a truly wonderful work."--Ellen Smith, American Jewish Historical Society"Painting Religion in Public is a full retelling of the story behind one of the most ambitious and, in its own era's eyes, most important public art monuments in the United States. Sally Promey establishes this importance through a thorough exploration of documentary materials, her creative use of these documents, and a wide-ranging inquiry into both the art and the religious culture of that time and place. Readers in many fields will find the text rewarding."--Marc Simpson, Bibliography of the History of Art, Getty Research Institute"Promey's thorough study of the contexts of and reactions to this most ambitious of Sargent's projects is not only timely but most welcome . . . .[Her] analysis of the multi-layered and religious attitudes and practices, patriotism, and sociological currents during the three decades of the installation of the murals is intricate and masterful . . . will undoubtedly become the definitive scholarly study of this complex series of murals."--Marianna M. Archambault, Religion and the Arts Read more From the Back Cover "With very impressive intellectual range, Promey deftly interprets the imagery in the context of diverse social, religious, and cultural currents in nineteenth- and twentieth-century America, and Boston in particular.Painting Religion in Public will instantly become and remain the definitive study of its subject."--David Morgan, Valparaiso University"Painting Religion in Public is a brilliant book, meticulously crafted, engaging, and challenging. It is full of marvelous insight and a deeply matured sensitivity to Sargent, his experiences, and his art. Sally Promey does a splendid job protecting the genuine ambiguities and contradictions in Sargent's views and in the realization of his plans forTriumph of Religion. Her ability to weave together historical, cultural, visual, and biographical resources without imposing a false unity gives authoritative restraint to her arguments while allowing her enthusiasm and sympathy for the project and the man to come through clearly. This is a truly wonderful work."--Ellen Smith, American Jewish Historical Society"Painting Religion in Public is a full retelling of the story behind one of the most ambitious and, in its own era's eyes, most important public art monuments in the United States. Sally Promey establishes this importance through a thorough exploration of documentary materials, her creative use of these documents, and a wide-ranging inquiry into both the art and the religious culture of that time and place. Readers in many fields will find the text rewarding."--Marc Simpson, Bibliography of the History of Art, Getty Research Institute"Promey's thorough study of the contexts of and reactions to this most ambitious of Sargent's projects is not only timely but most welcome . . . .[Her] analysis of the multi-layered and religious attitudes and practices, patriotism, and sociological currents during the three decades of the installation of the murals is intricate and masterful . . . will undoubtedly become the definitive scholarly study of this complex series of murals."--Marianna M. Archambault,Religion and the Arts Read more About the Author Sally M. Promey is Professor of American Art in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at the University of Maryland. She is author of Spiritual Spectacles: Vision and Image in Mid-Nineteenth-Century Shakerism and contributing author and co-editor of The Visual Culture of American Religions (forthcoming). Read more
Reviews
This book is absolutely brilliant. A previous reviewer expressed their disappointment with the lack of images. I would first like to point out that a lack of images is no reason to give the book only one star, especially considering that they were able to recognize the fact that Promey is the first to write a book on what the reviewer conceded is "a basically unpublished subject." As for the reviewer's claim that this book is only suitable for the Art Historian, I would just like to say that I read this book when I was 13, and still managed to find it thoroughly interesting and engaging. Perhaps the reviewer's need for more pretty pictures than the author (wisely) chose to include is an indicator of a lack of education and imagination on their part rather than a lack of judgment on hers.