Auth: University College London, Distributed by Viking.

Art historian Henry M. Sayre traces the origins of the term “value” in art criticism, revealing the politics that define Manet’s art. How did art critics come to speak of light and dark as, respectively, “high in value” and “low in value”? Henry M. Sayre traces the origin of this usage to one of art history’s most famous and racially charged paintings, Édouard Manet’s Olympia. Art critics once described light and dark in painting in terms of musical metaphor—higher and lower tones, notes, and scales. Sayre shows that it was Émile Zola who introduced the new “law of values” in an 1867 essay on Manet. Unpacking the intricate contexts of Zola’s essay and of several related paintings by Manet, Sayre argues that Zola’s usage of value was intentionally double coded—an economic metaphor for the political economy of slavery. In Manet’s painting, Olympia and her maid represent objects of exchange, a commentary on the French Empire’s complicity in the ongoing slave trade in the Americas. Expertly researched and argued, this bold study reveals the extraordinary weight of history and politics that Manet’s painting bears. Locating the presence of slavery at modernism’s roots, Value in Art is a surprising and necessary intervention in our understanding of art history.

in what circumstances art is valued. Complementing a major six-part BBC TV series, this illustrated guide also examines ideas about artists, the art market, art collectors, and more, from around the world during various time periods. Photos.

"Art and Human Values includes articles, excerpts, and case studies that address fundamental, theoretical, and practical perspectives that consider art a powerful social and cultural force. The readings present an opportunity to examine your own and others' aesthetic values and to explore how art both forms and informs culture. The readings provide perspectives of art as a language that advances multicultural and cross-cultural understanding while examining the political, regional, economic, technological, religious-spiritual, ethnic, gender, and generational influences that shape conceptions of art and artists. The varied and diverse readings offer numerous perspectives on art, including culturally-based versus universally-based theories of art, and the role of cultural institutions and art policies on art and art making. Other topics include gender, race, and ethnicity in relation to artistic representation. The text examines contemporary and historical cross-cultural examples of art as an agent of social and cultural change and considers ethical practice and the creation, consumption, and acceptance of art. Dr. Gregory Gurley currently teaches in the Arts and Administration Program at the University of Oregon. He received his doctoral degree in theater from Arizona State University where his research focused on eighteenth century drama for children and the use of drama as an educational means for social moral development. His research was recognized by Project Muse and in 2008 Drama and Moral Education: The Plays of Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849) was published by VDM Verlag Publishing. As an interdisciplinary arts curriculum specialist, Dr. Gurley is currently developing in-class, online, and innovative hybrid curriculum and serves as online mentor to other departmental faculty."

Hans van Maanen is professor of art and society at the Department of Arts, Culture & Media Studies of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.

Learn a basic approach to controlling tonal values at the start of your painting.