The last dynasty

Editorial Staff Art

from The Magazine ANTIQUES, May/June 2013 | At some point during the 1800s, when nobody was looking, an institution passed away that for centuries had been a fixture of the visual arts: the artis­tic dynasty, the family of painters who, across several generations, maintained a consistent aesthetic profile. One is put in mind of this institution, and of its demise, …

Rediscovering an art star

Editorial Staff Art

from The Magazine ANTIQUES, March/April 2013 | In recent decades, few provinces of human creativity have fallen into swifter or more thorough disrepute than the society portrait. So steeply have its fortunes declined that the latest generation might be surprised to learn that this genre once held a position of signal honor among the varied forms of painting. Indeed, a …