Background
Spear, Richard Edmund was born on February 3, 1940 in Michigan City, Indiana, United States. Son of Irving S. and Esther Marion (Lieber) Spear.
( In this highly original book five leading art historian...)
In this highly original book five leading art historians team up with two distinguished economic and social historians to investigate the financial worlds of painters in Baroque Italy. Exploring the many variables that determined the prices asked or received by painters—including the status of their patrons, the size of works and time spent making them, their subject matter, and their number of figures—the authors offer major insights into the social lives, psychological disposition, and economic circumstances of a wide range of major and minor artists.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300154569/?tag=2022091-20
(In this highly original study of Italian baroque master G...)
In this highly original study of Italian baroque master Guido Reni (1575-1642), Richard Spear paints a compelling portrait of the artist - his complexities, his formative experiences, his cultural surroundings, and his unique sensibilities. Spear views Reni's career from a wide variety of perspectives and sets his life and works in social, economic, historical, artistic, religious, and psychological contexts. The author focuses first on Reni's peculiar character: a man at once deeply religious, rabidly misogynist, reportedly virginal, neurotically fearful of witches, and addicted to gambling. The author considers the enduring charisma of Reni's Crucifixions, weeping Marys, and repentant saints in the light of the Catholic doctrinal meaning of grace in Reni's time, the Church's attitude toward Mary and women, and the gendered implications of visual grace. Chapters on Reni's pricing policies, selling strategies, use of assistants, and attitude toward what constituted an "original, " expose the motivating importance of money for Reni, and the concerns, even among seventeenth-century collectors, about how to distinguish original paintings from studio replicas or copies. The book investigates the ways renaissance and baroque attitudes toward art-making affected Reni and closes with a fresh view of Reni's unfinished canvases and last style, including the Divine Love, the beautiful and unusual painting that remained in Reni's studio at the time of his death.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300070357/?tag=2022091-20
Spear, Richard Edmund was born on February 3, 1940 in Michigan City, Indiana, United States. Son of Irving S. and Esther Marion (Lieber) Spear.
Bachelor, University Chicago, 1961. Master of Fine Arts, Princeton University, 1963. Doctor of Philosophy, Princeton University, 1965.
Member faculty Oberlin (Ohio) College, 1964-2000, professor art history, 1975-1983, Mildred Jay professor art history, 1983-2000. Director Allen Memorial Art Museum, 1972-1983. Visiting distinguished professor University Maryland, College Park, since 1998.
Harn Eminent Scholar professor University Florida, 1997-1998. Distinguished visiting professor George Washington University, Washington, 1983-1984. Trustee Intermuseum Conservation Association, 1972-1983, president, 1975-1977.
(In this highly original study of Italian baroque master G...)
( In this highly original book five leading art historian...)
(1971 Cleveland Museum of Art HARDCOVER, 37pp+81 black and...)
Regional executive board American Civil Liberties Union, 1974-1976. Member College Art Association American.
Married Athena Tacha, June 11, 1965.