From Library Journal
This book surveys the development of British genre painting from its 18th-century genesis to the end of the Victorian era. Artistic depictions of daily life evolved in direct relationship to the ascendancy of middle-class demand over aristocratic patronage. Johnson takes a methodical, dual approach to changing subject matter by tracing the parallel shifts in cultural development and aesthetic judgments. Transitions in painterly narrative are discussed in terms not only of major figures, but also of artists popular in their times but less enduring in reputation. The illustrations are unremarkable in quality but plentiful aids to the text. A good acquisition for general and academic libraries, especially collections where the book's scope will bridge Ronald Paulson's Emblem & Expression (Harvard Univ. Pr., 1975) and Roy Strong's Recreating the Past (Thames & Hudson, 1978). Paula A. Baxter, Museum of Modern Art Lib., New York
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
