While the painting of the 1880s and 1890s in Paris has been studied in great depth, the concurrent art criticism has not been given the attention it deserves. Conservative Echoes examines previously unexplored aspects of the symbolist criticism of art, revealing its conservative nature, and thus providing a new view of the art criticism of one of the most significant periods in the development of modern art. Art historians tend to focus on a small body of criticism written by authors who championed one or more of the artists recognized today as leaders of the avant-garde. In essence, it is the art that directs most studies of criticism rather than the criticism itself. Michael Marlais has studied late nineteenth-century criticism on all levels, from popular press to esoteric review, in order to understand the context in which avant-garde art criticism appeared. He focuses on the critics Félix Fénéon, Albert Aurier, Alphonse Germain, Camille Mauclair, and Maurice Denis, noting both conservative and modernist features of their writing, while attempting to situate them within the antinaturalist intellectual trends of the period. Marlais emphasizes the relationship of avant-garde critics to the broader cultural milieu, thus providing both a valuable corrective in the study of fin-de-siècle art history and another way of understanding the cultural climate in Paris during that time.

This book has been published in open access thanks to the financial support of the Open Access Book Fund of the University of Groningen. François Hemsterhuis (1721-1790) was a Dutch philosopher on the crossroad of Enlightenment, Classicism and Romanticism. He published his treatises in French, with a beautiful lay-out. They were read and discussed immediately, by outstanding philosophers and artists like Diderot, Jacobi, Herder, Goethe, Novalis and Schleiermacher. This critical edition of Hemsterhuis’s OEuvres philosophiques, together with an early German translation, Vermischte philosophische Schriften, published in 1782-1797. François Hemsterhuis (1721-1790) war ein niederländischer Philosoph auf dem Schnittpunkt von Aufklärung, Klassizismus und Romantik. Er veröffentlichte seine Abhandlungen auf Französisch, in elegantem Layout. Bereits unmittelbar nach ihrem Erscheinen bildeten sie den Stoff zahlreicher Diskussionen unter berühmten Dichtern und Denkern wie Diderot, Jacobi, Herder, Goethe, Novalis und Schleiermacher. Die vorliegende kritische Ausgabe der Œuvres philosophiques von Hemsterhuis beinhaltet auch die zeitgenössische deutsche Übersetzung, Vermischte philosophische Schriften, die in 1782 und 1797 veröffentlicht wurde. François Hemsterhuis (1721-1790) était un philosophe néerlandais sur le carrefour des Lumières, le Néo-classicisme et le Romantisme. Il a publié ses traités en français, avec une belle mise en page. Ils ont été lus et discutés immédiatement par des philosophes et des poètes réputés comme Diderot, Jacobi, Herder, Goethe, Novalis et Schleiermacher. Cette édition critique offre des Œuvres philosophiques de Hemsterhuis, accompagnée d’une traduction allemande contemporaine, Vermischte philosophische Schriften, publiée en 1782-1797.

The first in-depth look at Staël's political life and writings Germaine de Staël (1766–1817) is perhaps best known today as a novelist, literary critic, and outspoken and independent thinker. Yet she was also a prominent figure in politics during the French Revolution. Biancamaria Fontana sheds new light on this often overlooked aspect of Staël's life and work, bringing vividly to life her unique experience as a political actor in a world where women had no place. The banker's daughter who became one of Europe's best-connected intellectuals, Staël was an exceptionally talented woman who achieved a degree of public influence to which not even her wealth and privilege would normally have entitled her. During the Revolution, when the lives of so many around her were destroyed, she succeeded in carving out a unique path for herself and making her views heard, first by the powerful men around her, later by the European public at large. Fontana provides the first in-depth look at her substantial output of writings on the theory and practice of the exercise of power, setting in sharp relief the dimension of Staël's life that she cared most about—politics. She was fascinated by the nature of public opinion, and believed that viable political regimes were founded on public trust and popular consensus. Fontana shows how Staël's ideas were shaped by the remarkable times in which she lived, and argues that it is only through a consideration of her political insights that we can fully understand Staël's legacy and its enduring relevance for us today.

This book examines the critical writing and journalistic reportage on Jean-Auguste-Dominque Ingres, from the time of his renunciation of the Salon in1834 until his large retrospective at the 1855 Universal Exposition, the crucial middle decades of his career. This massive body of writing demonstrates how Ingres shaped his career in the rapidly evolving art world of mid-nineteenth century Paris. Enjoying the benefits of his affiliation with the Academy, the artist also employed certain modes of presentation, most notably the single-artist exhibition and illustrated monograph, through which he distanced himself and his work from the embattled world of artistic officialdom.