Matthew Craske

The institution of the pantheon has come a long way from its classical origins. Invented to describe a temple dedicated to many deities, the term later became so far removed from its original meaning, that by the twentieth century, it has been able to exist independently of any architectural and sculptural monument. This collection of essays is the first to trace the transformation of the monumental idea of the pantheon from its origins in Greek and Roman antiquity to its later appearance as a means of commemorating and enshrining the ideals of national identity and statehood. Illuminating the emergence of the pantheon in a range of different cultures and periods by exploring its different manifestations and implementations, the essays open new historical perspectives on the formation of national and civic identities.

Transformations of a Monumental Idea

Pantheons

Giles Waterfield

Anne French

Traditionally, British portraits have concentrated on the upper classes and the famous. This book explores the servant, be it in a grand or modest house, in the country or town, telling a fascinating story about power, class and human relationships spanning over 400 years of social and economic history.

400 Years of Servants' Portraits

Below Stairs

Matthew Craske looks closely at tomb sculptures in their social context. He discusses a large number of monuments by many different sculptors, all with a knowledge of the person commemorated and the circumstances behind the commission.

A History of Monumental Sculpture and Commemorative Art in England, 1720-1770

The Silent Rhetoric of the Body

A revelatory study of one of the 18th century's greatest artists, which places him in relation to the darker side of the English Enlightenment Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797), though conventionally known as a "painter of light," returned repeatedly to nocturnal images. His essential preoccupations were dark and melancholy. He had an enduring concern with death, ruin, old age, loss of innocence, isolation, and tragedy. In this long-awaited book, Matthew Craske takes a fresh approach to Wright of Derby, examining contemporary reports of his melancholia and nervous disposition and questioning accepted understandings of the artist: that he set out to paint the Industrial Revolution, was personally heavily concerned with science, and had his cultural milieu in such clubs as the Lunar Society, which are seen to have existed to promote science and industry. In this very different portrayal, we gain a bleaker, more nuanced understanding of Wright of Derby as well as a new and thought-provoking vision of the wider art-historical period.

Matthew Craske

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