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Carta azzurra / blauw papier : drawing on blue paper in Italy and the Netherlands, ca. 1450–ca. 1660

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Date
30/11/2022
Author
McCarthy, Alexa Jaye
Supervisor
Kessel, Elsje van
Moretti, Laura
Funder
Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
Italian Art Society
Catherine and Alfred Forrest Trust
Elizabeth Gilmore Holt Scholarship
University of St Andrews. School of Art History
Association for Art History (Indiana University, Bloomington)
Keywords
Art history
Drawings
Blue paper
The Netherlands
Italy
Venice
Amsterdam
Artist materials
Sixteenth century
Seventeenth century
Early modern
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Abstract
This doctoral dissertation explores the transcultural use of the material of blue paper for figure studies and figural compositions by artists working in sixteenth-century Venice and seventeenth-century Amsterdam. The research focuses on artists’ use of blue paper made with blue fibres, or that which is coloured blue during its production, rather than neutral papers that are prepared with a coloured wash. Blue paper provided a readily available mid-tone and its texture allowed friable drawing implements like chalk and charcoal to be absorbed into the paper at varying degrees. This interplay contributed to the achievement of rilievo, or the ability to model three-dimensional forms in space on a flat surface. Understanding the broader artistic, cultural, and theoretical frameworks that led to the employment of blue paper in these two centres of commercial and artistic exchange is central to our understanding of the material’s role in early modern artistic practice, as well as to our interpretations of the drawings themselves. Through object-based, technical, and archival research, as well as analyses of contemporary texts on art, this research is inherently interdisciplinary in examining the significance of the role of blue paper in Italian and Dutch artistic practice and stylistic development.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/209
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Rights
Embargo Date: 2027-08-15
Embargo Reason: Thesis restricted in accordance with University regulations. Restricted until 15th August 2027
Collections
  • Art History Theses
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/26158

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