Robert Tittler

A rare examination of the political, social, and economic contexts in which painters in Tudor and Early Stuart England lived and worked While famous artists such as Holbein, Rubens, or Van Dyck are all known for their creative periods in England or their employment at the English court, they still had to make ends meet, as did the less well-known practitioners of their craft. This book, by one of the leading historians of Tudor and Stuart England, sheds light on the daily concerns, practices, and activities of many of these painters. Drawing on a biographical database comprising nearly 3000 painters and craftsmen - strangers and native English, Londoners and provincial townsmen, men and sometimes women, celebrity artists and 'mere painters' - this book offers an account of what it meant to paint for a living in early modern England. It considers the origins of these painters as well as their geographical location, the varieties of their expertise, and the personnel and spatial arrangements of their workshops. Engagingly written, the book captures a sense of mobility and exchange between England and the continent through the considerable influence of stranger-painters, undermining traditional notions about the insular character of this phase in the history of English art. By showing how painters responded to the greater political, religious, and economic upheavals of the time, the study refracts the history of England itself through the lens of this particular occupation.

Painting for a Living in Tudor and Early Stuart England

Robert Tittler investigates the growing affinity for secular portraiture in Tudor and early Stuart England, a cultural and social phenomenon which can be said to have produced a 'public' for that genre. He breaks new ground in placing portrait patronage and production in this era in the broad social and cultural context of post-Reformation England, and in distinguishing between native English provincial portraiture, which was often highly vernacular, and foreign-influenced portraiture of the court and metropolis, which tended towards the formal and 'polite'. Tittler describes the burgeoning public for portraiture of this era as more than the familiar court-and-London based presence, but rather as a phenomenon which was surprisingly widespread both socially and geographically throughout the realm. He suggests that provincial portraiture differed from the 'mainstream', cosmopolitan portraiture of the day in its workmanship, materials, inspirations, and even vocabulary, showing how its native English roots continued to guide its production. Innovative chapters consider the aims and vocabulary of English provincial portraiture, the relationship of portraiture and heraldry, the painter's occupation in provincial (as opposed to metropolitan) England, and the contrasting availability of materials and training in both provincial and metropolitan areas. The work as a whole contributes to both art history and social history; it speaks to admirers and collectors of painting as well as to curators and academics.

Portraits, Painters, and Publics in Provincial England, 1540-1640

Norman L. Jones

A Companion to Tudor Britain provides an authoritative overview of historical debates about this period, focusing on the whole British Isles. An authoritative overview of scholarly debates about Tudor Britain Focuses on the whole British Isles, exploring what was common and what was distinct to its four constituent elements Emphasises big cultural, social, intellectual, religious and economic themes Describes differing political and personal experiences of the time Discusses unusual subjects, such as the sense of the past amongst British constituent identities, the relationship of cultural forms to social and political issues, and the role of scientific inquiry Bibliographies point readers to further sources of information

A Companion to Tudor Britain

The Making of a Tudor Statesman

Nicholas Bacon

Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus Robert Tittler

The town hall in early modern England was the seat of civic government and the architectural embodiment of power, authority, and legitimacy in the community. Robert Tittler's imaginatively conceived and wide-ranging study, based on extensive research in local records, explores the town halland its role in civic culture and urban life. The multi-disciplinary approach of Architecture and Power generates architectural, anthropological, literary, and historical insights into politics and society in England's provincial towns in the sixteenth and early seventeenth century. Professor Tittler explores the connection between the boomin town hall building in this period and the cultural and political evolution of the provincial urban community. From the function of decorations and furnishings to the political activities and self-image of the urban elite, every aspect of the town hall and its place in civic culture is rigorouslyexamined. This is a fascinating and scholarly contribution to the urban history of England.

The Town Hall and the English Urban Community, C. 1500-1640

Architecture and Power

A Companion to Tudor Britain provides an authoritativeoverview of historical debates about this period, focusing on thewhole British Isles. An authoritative overview of scholarly debates about TudorBritain Focuses on the whole British Isles, exploring what was commonand what was distinct to its four constituent elements Emphasises big cultural, social, intellectual, religious andeconomic themes Describes differing political and personal experiences of thetime Discusses unusual subjects, such as the sense of the pastamongst British constituent identities, the relationship ofcultural forms to social and political issues, and the role ofscientific inquiry Bibliographies point readers to further sources ofinformation

Robert Tittler

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