Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: Conversation pieces were produced in large numbers in England from 1730 onward. In contrast to the grand manner of formal portraiture, the conversation piece depicts groups of small full-length figures engaged in conversation, music, tea, or cards within a detailed, naturalistically described landscape or architectural setting. This article examines how tea party conversation pieces, among the most popular subject of the genre, engage contemporary discourses about status. Differences between the actual practices of the tea party and the pictorial representations of it reveal the degree to which these pictures highlight the social standing of those portrayed.
Author: ching-jung chen
Language: English
Subfield: Museology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2211427699