num_pages: 232
description: In this interdisciplinary volume, historians of art, literature, dress, and theater examine the impact of the actress on British art and culture of the Georgian era. From the celebrated doyennes of the stage to the demireps on the periphery of the profession, female performers are shown to have played a vital and hitherto under-appreciated role in the artist’s studio, forging fruitful collaborations with leading artists and becoming nearly as influential in the studio as on the stage. Acting as models, muses, and patrons, actresses inspired a remarkable proliferation of images in which issues of theatricality, sexuality, and social mobility were explored in ways that were impossible in depictions of more “respectable” women.Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
language: English
title: Notorious Muse: The Actress in British Art and Culture, 1776-1812
titlecomplete: Notorious Muse: The Actress in British Art and Culture, 1776-1812
genres: Theatre
ratings_count: 4
series: Studies in British Art
publisher: Paul Mellon Centre