The name of the painter Enrique Grau is inseparable from the history of art in Colombia. Since his astonishing debut as a prodigy in the early 1940s, Grau has explored virtually every avenue of art: drawing, engraving, collage, silkscreen, woodcuts, painting, sculpture, theatrical costumes and sets, cinema, murals, frescos, and objects. In the course of his long career, Grau has achieved and consolidated a style that is personal and classical at the same time; he is unique in the panorama of Latin American art. This book pays homage to an artist as vital at the age of 83 as he was when the public first brought him acclaim over 60 years ago.

A critical rethinking of the way canons are defined, constructed, dismantled, and revised. A century ago, all art was evaluated through the lens of European classicism and its tradition. This volume explores and questions the foundations of the European canon, offers a critical rethinking of ancient and classical art, and interrogates the canons of cultures and regions that have often been left at the margins of art history. It underscores the historical and geographical diversity of canons and the local values underlying them. Twelve international scholars consider how canons are constructed and contested, focusing on the relationship between canonical objects and the value systems that shape their hierarchies. Deploying an array of methodologies—including archaeological investigations, visual analysis, and literary critique—the authors examine canon formation throughout the world, including Africa, India, East Asia, Mesoamerica, South America, ancient Egypt, classical Greece, and Europe. Global studies of art, which are dismantling the traditionally Eurocentric canon, promise to make art history more inclusive. But enduring canons cannot be dismissed. This volume raises new questions about the importance of canons—including those from outside Europe—for the wider discipline of art history.