The Look of the Past
Visual and Material Evidence in Historical Practice

Visual and material sources are central to historical practice and this is a much-needed introduction to using artefacts as evidence.

Ludmilla Jordanova (Author)

9780521709064, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 27 September 2012

263 pages, 54 b/w illus. 36 colour illus.
24.6 x 18.9 x 1.5 cm, 0.67 kg

'A staunchly argued, exceptionally lucid demonstration of the enlightenment, and also pleasure, to be derived from alert, informed, enquiring looking at the myriad artefacts surrounding us. Enlivened by wide-ranging case studies and a provocative choice of illustrations, it is a timely and invaluable resource for students of history and art history alike.' Elizabeth Cowling, University of Edinburgh

How can we use visual and material culture to shed light on the past? Ludmilla Jordanova offers a fascinating and thoughtful introduction to the role of images, objects and buildings in the study of past times. Through a combination of thematic chapters and essays on specific artefacts – a building, a piece of sculpture, a photographic exhibition and a painted portrait – she shows how to analyse the agency and visual intelligence of artists, makers and craftsmen and make sense of changes in visual experience over time. Generously illustrated and drawing on numerous examples of images and objects from 1600 to the present, this is an essential guide to the skills that students need in order to describe, analyse and contextualise visual evidence. The Look of the Past will encourage readers to think afresh about how they, like people in the past, see and interpret the world around them.

A handbag?
Introduction
1. Description and evidence
Essay – a 'sumptuous structure': the Wren Library at Trinity College, Cambridge
2. Craft, skills and visual intelligence
Essay – 'the jewel of the church': Bernini's Ecstasy of St Teresa
3. Periodisation
Essay – photographing 'the family of man'
4. Audiences and display
Essay – deposits of friendship: Renoir's 1908 portrait of Ambroise Vollard
5. Comparative analysis
List of reference works.

Subject Areas: General & world history [HBG], History: theory & methods [HBA], History [HB], History of art / art & design styles [AC], The arts [A]