Fordham University Press
Titles appearing in Art Book News Annual — February 2008
Manhood, marriage, and mischief; Rembrandt's 'Night watch' and other Dutch group portraits.
Berger, Harry.
Fordham University Press, ©2007 272 p. $30.00 ND1319
978-0-8232-2557-6
In this study of the theory and practice of 17th-century Dutch group portraits, Berger (literature and art history, U. of California, Santa Cruz) defines and discusses the portrait as the record of an event — the event of the artist's act of representing the sitter's act of self-representation. Focusing on portrait sitters who are husbands and householders and members of civic and proto-military organizations, the text includes analysis of Rembrandt's The Night Watch which Berger interprets as both an overtly deliberate parody by the sitters and a covert parody of the sitters by the artist. Illustrated with 36 b&w figures and 16 color reproductions. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
