Description:
Through a sweeping look at Jesuit activities in Japan, China, Mughul India, and Paraguay, Bailey finds evidence of artistic hybridization as a means of communication and argues in favour of a paradigm of artistic exchange.
Brief description: Gauvin Alexander Bailey is an associate Professor in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at Clark University.
Review Quotes:
'This extremely impressive book immediately becomes the standard work on the "diverse blend of traditions" in the art produced around the world under the sponsorship and through the influence of the Jesuit missions.'
--Jonathan Chaves, George Washington University'Gauvin Bailey, assistant professor of art history at Clark University accomplishes something quite radical in Art on the Jesuit Missions in Asia and Latin America. By resisting the centuries-old impulse either to canonize or to demonize the Jesuits, he manages to make a powerful and convincing assessment of their cultural impact.'
--Paul Mitchinson, The National Post'This lively, well-researched book makes important contributions to the emergence of a post-colonial understanding of an important set of early modern cultural encounters. Every scholar of international history will find in it new knowledge, surprising and beautiful illustrations, fresh insights, and a great deal of stimulation and even inspiration.'
--John E. Willis Jr., The International History Review'Dr. Bailey argues persuasively that European art was not simply imposed upon non-European cultures, but rather, recognizing the tremendous diversity of the contact cultures; the author adroitly considers this contact as a two-way dialogue. Dr. Bailey emphasizes correctly the fascinating assimilations and subsequent mutations of the European models. This is not a book about Jesuit art in Paraguay or Japan even though it actually functions as a guide to some of these lands better than any existing literature. Rather it assesses broader trends... it should become an excellent methodological and intellectual model for all scholars working on this material.'
--Professor Jeffrey Chipps Smith, Department of Art and Art History, University of Texas