Figured in Marble: The Making and Viewing of Eighteenth-Century Sculpture

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Summary: Sculptures from the Victoria and Albert Museum
Review: Collections seeking in-depth studies of 18th century art in general and British sculpture in particular will find Figured In Marble a specific but well focussed guide which blends the study of English sculpture with the broader topic of art history. Sculptures from the Victoria and Albert Museum and Getty Museum as well as those from private holdings liberally illustrate this case study of categories and genres of sculpture.

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Summary: Figured in Marble: Illuminating sculptural aesthetics
Review: Figured in Marble provides a rare opportunity for readers interested in English art to get a detailed insight into the history of sculptural aesthetics. While painting tends to dominate most histories of English art, Malcolm Baker draws on his intimate knowledge of the Victoria & Albert Museum's formidable sculpture collection, to produce a collection of essays that combine the detailed analysis of specific works with a broader analysis of how sculpture has become assimilated into art history.

The book begins in the early eighteenth century, with a minute dissection of the notebooks and 'Lives' by Vertue, Walpole and Cunningham. Baker manages to unlock a surprising wealth of information from these difficult, often opaque texts, by looking for new ways of approaching, reading and understanding their cryptic use of language. This sets the tone of the book, and in the following chapters, Baker continues to glean information from the most unexpected sources. Always approaching his subjects obliquely, the book brings to light aspects of sculpture that often remain unseen, unnoticed, and unexamined.

The first half of the book explores interconnections between sculpture and the luxury trades, the classifying of genres, and the public and private expectations of commissioned subjects, by looking at the conditions under which sculpture was designed and made. The second half links the development of the sculpture gallery with the emergence of aesthetic theory and the growing interest in the effect of the display and 'staging' of sculpture. The final chapter arrives at a very recent event: the controversial, drawn-out, and extraordinarily public affair of 'saving' Canova's Three Graces for the nation. Baker raises pertinent issues about the making, viewing and assimilation of sculpture into the public arena.

Although clearly addressing a specialist subject, the book is much more than a historical study of eighteenth century sculpture. Weaving together close readings of contemporary texts and modern interpretations of individual artists and studio-practice, the author compels his readers to question their preconceptions about sculpture. In Baker's own words, what he does in this book is 'to relate a narrative about changing notions of history and changing ways of perceiving and understanding objects'. Always moving between specific cases and their broader relevance, Baker embraces issues of continuing importance to the understanding of sculpture. Using the historical context as a framework for his arguments, the author questions the development of modern attitudes and ideas.

In a sense, the book could be described as an analysis of the evolution of histories of sculpture. It reveals as much about the eighteenth century as it does about our modern understandings, and (mis-)conceptions, of sculpture. This is an important contribution to the study of sculpture, and is essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in sculptural aesthetics.