The London trade in monumental sculpture and the development of imagery of the family in funerary monuments of the period 1720-1760
The thesis is concerned with the use of family imagery in monumental sculpture commissioned from the major London workshops in the mid-eighteenth century. It explores the interaction of the many factors which dictated the way in which the family might be represented in monumental sculpture. The interests of the competing London workshops in producing images which established their fame and increased their profits are studied in conjunction with the interests of the patronage in furthering personal and family reputations. The thesis evaluates the contribution that work upon the social history of the eighteenth century family can make to our understanding of the development of monumental imagery. I investigate the many levels of problems associated with using an art form as a source of ~data~ in the formulation of social history and the potential of the analysis of artistic images to question, or confirm, the validity of theories of family history. The central objective is to enquire into the reasons why the London market in monumental sculpture thrived and expanded in the first half of the eighteenth century. Much of the analysis is directed at revealing the fundamental reasons which caused patrons to order
Craske, Matthew Julian
Art History
The London trade in monumental sculpture and the development of imagery of the family in funerary monuments of the period 1720-1760. The thesis is concerned with the use of family imagery in monumental sculpture commissioned from the major London workshops in the mid-eighteenth century. It explores the interaction of the many factors which dictated the way in which the family might be represented in monumental sculpture. The interests of the competing London workshops in producing images which established their fame and increased their profits are studied in conjunction with the interests of the patronage in furthering personal and family reputations. The thesis evaluates the contribution that work upon the social history of the eighteenth century family can make to our understanding of the development of monumental imagery. I investigate the many levels of problems associated with using an art form as a source of ~data~ in the formulation of social history and the potential of the analysis of artistic images to question, or confirm, the validity of theories of family history. The central objective is to enquire into the reasons why the London market in monumental sculpture thrived and expanded in the first half of the eighteenth century. Much of the analysis is directed at revealing the fundamental reasons which caused patrons to order
london trade monumental sculpture development imagery family funerary_monument period concerned use family imagery monumental sculpture commission major london workshop explore interaction many_factor dictate way family might represent monumental sculpture interest compete london workshop produce image establish fame increase profit study conjunction interest patronage further personal family reputation evaluates work upon social_history family make development monumental imagery investigate many level problem_associate use art form source data formulation social_history potential analysis artistic image question confirm validity theory family_history central objective enquire reason london market monumental sculpture thrive expand first_half much analysis direct reveal fundamental reason cause patron order