Republics and empires: Italian and American art in transnational perspective, 1840–1970

Book info: Republics and empires: Italian and American art in transnational perspective, 1840–1970 (Hardcover, 296 pages) – Manchester University Press, 2021. Language: English.

Republics and empires provides transnational perspectives on the significance of Italy to American art and visual culture and the impact of the United States on Italian art and popular culture. Covering the period from the Risorgimento to the Cold War, it reveals the complexity of the visual discourses that bound two relatively new nations together. It also gives substantial attention to literary and critical texts that addressed the evolving cultural relationship between Italy and the United States. While American art history has tended to privilege French, British and German ties, these chapters highlight a rich body of contemporary research by Italian and American scholars that moves beyond a discussion of influence as a one-way directive towards a deeper understanding of cultural transactions that profoundly affected the artistic expression of both nations. Editorial Reviews From the Back Cover

Republics and empires explores the role of Italy in American art and visual culture and that of the United States in Italian art and popular culture. Covering the period from the Risorgimento to the Cold War, the volume illuminates the complexity of the visual discourses that bound two relatively new nations together. It also gives substantial attention to literary and critical texts that addressed the evolving cultural relationship.

Taking into account the significant historical events that linked the two countries, Part I: 'Hybrid republicanisms' and Part II: 'The courses of empire' highlight important cross-cultural issues. The first part concentrates on the shared notions of republicanism and tyranny that animated American and Italian politics in the long nineteenth century, as both nations attempted to bind a community of diverse peoples together on the common values of liberty, equality and the pursuit of happiness. The second part of the volume exposes how the liberal tendencies of nationalism gave way to imperial ambition, and how this transition was given visual and cultural form in Italian and American high art and popular culture.

The collection serves as a valuable introduction to US–Italian cultural relations. Its fourteen case studies by Italian and American scholars trace how gender, race, ethnicity and class interests intersect with the powerful political and cultural dynamics of both nations.

About the Author

Melissa Dabakis is Professor Emerita of Art History at Kenyon College

Paul H. D. Kaplan is Professor of Art History at Purchase College, State University of New York