I get The Medieval Review in email: this one's for you. (Two parts) Hults, Linda C. The Witch as Muse: Gender and Power in Early Modern Europe. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. Pp. 352. $49.95. ISBN 978-0-8122-3869-3.
Reviewed by Diana Laulainen-Schein Arizona State University Diana.Laulainenschein@asu.edu
The Witch as Muse by Linda Hults is not simply an art history book with an intriguing theme; it is an exceptionally well-written monograph produced by art historian who has spent over a decade thinking about her subject. As such, the book is not for the faint of heart. The writing is erudite and complex and discusses theories and principles related to the process of art that are not readily accessible to a beginning scholar in the field. Beyond art and art theory, the book is well-researched and one will be hard-pressed to find errors in her interpretation and application of witchcraft historiography. General witchcraft historians should approach the text with an awareness that witchcraft historiography informs her interpretations of witches in art but without any expectation that Hults might use art analysis to significantly impact witchcraft interpretation. Indeed, it is unrealistic to expect broad interpretations to be accurately drawn from a handful of artists and their artworks, particularly given the contexts in which they were created.
Rather than a comprehensive survey of the witch in art, The Witch as Muse, as stated in the preface, is "a deep rendering of the artists' engagement" of the theme of witchcraft (xii). The distinction is important and shapes the text that follows. Hults begins with a comprehensive and accurate review of witchcraft historiography as it relates to her task of analyzing "the understanding of witchcraft and the persecution of witches in specific times and places" (xii). Chapter Two then presents the constructs of art theory and the discourses that influenced the artists' decisions as to form and content throughout the creative processes that produced these images. In the remaining five chapters, Hults traces the use of the witch as a central figure in art by examining major artists who addressed the theme, including Albert Durer, Hans Baldung Grien, Frans Francken II, Jacques de Gheyn II, Salvatore Rose, and Francisco Goya.
The chapters unfold chronologically while generally focusing thematically and, by consequence, geographically. Within each chapter, Hults provides a concise yet informative and essential review of the social and political milieus in which the artists worked. These details allow Hults to place her discussions of various artists in both the larger historical and the more personal individual contexts in which the art of witchcraft was produced. With those frameworks in place, she moves on to detailed and fascinating analyses of individual works of art; these analyses are what truly mark The Witch as Muse as a work of distinction.
no subject
Hults, Linda C. The Witch as Muse: Gender and Power in Early Modern
Europe. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. Pp.
352. $49.95. ISBN 978-0-8122-3869-3.
Reviewed by Diana Laulainen-Schein
Arizona State University
Diana.Laulainenschein@asu.edu
The Witch as Muse by Linda Hults is not simply an art history
book with an intriguing theme; it is an exceptionally well-written
monograph produced by art historian who has spent over a decade
thinking about her subject. As such, the book is not for the faint of
heart. The writing is erudite and complex and discusses theories and
principles related to the process of art that are not readily
accessible to a beginning scholar in the field. Beyond art and art
theory, the book is well-researched and one will be hard-pressed to
find errors in her interpretation and application of witchcraft
historiography. General witchcraft historians should approach the text
with an awareness that witchcraft historiography informs her
interpretations of witches in art but without any expectation that
Hults might use art analysis to significantly impact witchcraft
interpretation. Indeed, it is unrealistic to expect broad
interpretations to be accurately drawn from a handful of artists and
their artworks, particularly given the contexts in which they were
created.
Rather than a comprehensive survey of the witch in art, The Witch
as Muse, as stated in the preface, is "a deep rendering of the
artists' engagement" of the theme of witchcraft (xii). The distinction
is important and shapes the text that follows. Hults begins with a
comprehensive and accurate review of witchcraft historiography as it
relates to her task of analyzing "the understanding of witchcraft and
the persecution of witches in specific times and places" (xii).
Chapter Two then presents the constructs of art theory and the
discourses that influenced the artists' decisions as to form and
content throughout the creative processes that produced these images.
In the remaining five chapters, Hults traces the use of the witch as a
central figure in art by examining major artists who addressed the
theme, including Albert Durer, Hans Baldung Grien, Frans Francken II,
Jacques de Gheyn II, Salvatore Rose, and Francisco Goya.
The chapters unfold chronologically while generally focusing
thematically and, by consequence, geographically. Within each chapter,
Hults provides a concise yet informative and essential review of the
social and political milieus in which the artists worked. These
details allow Hults to place her discussions of various artists in
both the larger historical and the more personal individual contexts
in which the art of witchcraft was produced. With those frameworks in
place, she moves on to detailed and fascinating analyses of individual
works of art; these analyses are what truly mark The Witch as
Muse as a work of distinction.