Download or read book Art and Politics of the Second Empire written by Patricia Mainardi and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Patricia Mainardi presents a new analysis of the major shift in nineteenth-century art from large public to small private works by examining the political and institutional factors that were in effect. Mainardi brings to life the complex institutional world of official art in the mid- to late-nineteenth century, presenting the relevant individual personalities, group interests, conflicts, and shift in a policy with clarity and detail. Writing in a lively, often witty style, she throws much new light on such subjects as the decline of history painting, the rise and eventual triumph of genre painting, the influence exerted in France by the art of England, Belgium, and Germany, and the inevitable collapse of the official exhibition system.