The Enlightened Mind - (History of Art) by Amanda Strasik (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The rise of Enlightenment philosophical and scientific thought during the long eighteenth century in Europe and North America (c. 1688-1815) sparked artistic and political revolutions, reframed social, gender, and race relations, reshaped attitudes toward children and animals, and reconceptualized womanhood, marriage, and family life. The meaning of "education" at this time was wide-ranging and access to it was divided along lines of gender, class, and race. Learning happened in diverse environments under the tutelage of various teachers, ranging from bourgeois mothers at home, to Spanish clergy, to nature itself.

The contributors to this cross-disciplinary volume weave together methods in art history, gender studies, and literary analysis to reexamine "education" in different contexts during the Enlightenment era. They explore the implications of redesigned curricula, educational categorizations and spaces, pedagogical aids and games, the role of religion, and new prospects for visual artists, parents, children, and society at large. Collectively, the authors demonstrate how new learning opportunities transformed familial structures and the socio-political conditions of urban centers in France, Britain, the United States, and Spain. Expanded approaches to education also established new artistic practices and redefined women's roles in the arts. This volume offers groundbreaking perspectives on education that will appeal to beginning and seasoned humanities scholars alike.

Review Quotes

Through the exploration of an impressive range of textual and visual materials, this book adds to the growing scholarship on education during the long eighteenth century. The collection is distinguished by its diverse social-economical and material range. The inclusion of Spain and America gives it some geographical breath as well. Essays offer original and thought-provoking interpretations of well-known eighteenth-century philosophical treatises and artworks as well as introduces readers to lesser-known writers and artists. The book serves as a great resource for specialists in eighteenth-century culture, gender studies, and women's history as well as for students interested in the period.

Dr. Christina K. Lindeman

Department of Art & Art History

University of South Alabama

This useful collection of essays addresses eighteenth-century culture, particularly as related to the visual arts and gender, through the lens of education in fresh and instructive ways. I suspect most readers will find in the essays a compelling mixture of familiarity and revelation: familiar themes, artists, and ideas are cast in a new light, expanded in interesting ways, animated alongside less well-known figures, and broadened to inform new questions. Originating from a session on education at the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies conference in 2021-chaired by Amanda Strasik and Karissa Bushman-the seven papers engage French, British, American, and Spanish topics, including anatomical training for artists in Paris, the context for better understanding Jeanne-Elisabeth Chaudet's 'Little Girl Teaching Her Dog to Read, ' the significance of embroidered pictures after designs by Angelica Kauffman, shifting prescriptions for teaching drawing to children, the educational utility of experience and being outside from Madame d'Epinay's 'Conversations d'Emilie, ' new conceptions of pedagogical ideals in Spain, and the impact of Goya's education on his depictions of saints. At the risk of noting favorites, I am especially excited about the generative articles by Dorothy Johnson (on artistic anatomy), Rachel Harmeyer (on embroidery), and Franny Brock (on drawing instruction). Contributing both a chapter and an introduction framing the period's educational ideals as shaped by philosophical and social developments, Amanda Strasik, as the volume's editor, should be congratulated for bringing together a fascinating range of materials, underscoring how important the eighteenth century remains for understanding the world we live in today, including our own varied educational ideals-just as such questions now feel more relevant than ever.

Dr. Craig Hanson

Professor of Art History

Calvin University