Artist As Narrator: Nineteenth Century Narrative Art in England And France

The changes inherent in nineteenth-century modernization gave rise to significant expansion of subject matter and ideas for artistic expression. Reflecting the taste of a newly established middle class created by industrialization, globalization, and the growth of the city, nineteenth-century narrative art parallels the developments of the popular novel and the illustrated magazine. Artist as Narrator is an exploration of the important developments in narrative art, organized in six sections: paintings inspired by literature; those based on Greco-Roman mythology; ones depicting religion and history; others of rural life; paintings of new urban subjects; and prints exemplifying a mix of these subjects.