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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
From Genre To Portrait: The Etymology Of The 'Conversation Piece', Ching-Jung Chen
From Genre To Portrait: The Etymology Of The 'Conversation Piece', Ching-Jung Chen
Publications and Research
During the late 1720s and early 1730s, a new type of portrait painting, called the conversation piece, became fashionable in England. This article will trace the origin and evolution of the term "conversation piece" from its earliest appearance in the English language to the present. First used in English for genre pictures in the Dutch tradition as well as Watteau's fetes galantes, the term was adopted for small-scale group portraits around 1730 when this type of portraiture became popular. Long after the rise of the portrait conversation, the term continued to be used for genre pictures. The use of …
Book Review Of The Conversation Piece: Scenes Of Fashionable Life, By Desmond Shawe-Taylor, Ching-Jung Chen
Book Review Of The Conversation Piece: Scenes Of Fashionable Life, By Desmond Shawe-Taylor, Ching-Jung Chen
Publications and Research
No abstract provided.
Tea Parties In Early Georgian Conversation Pieces, Ching-Jung Chen
Tea Parties In Early Georgian Conversation Pieces, Ching-Jung Chen
Publications and Research
Conversation pieces were produced in large numbers in England from 1730 onward. In contrast to the grand manner of formal portraiture, the conversation piece depicts groups of small full-length figures engaged in conversation, music, tea, or cards within a detailed, naturalistically described landscape or architectural setting. This article examines how tea party conversation pieces, among the most popular subject of the genre, engage contemporary discourses about status. Differences between the actual practices of the tea party and the pictorial representations of it reveal the degree to which these pictures highlight the social standing of those portrayed.