On Art and Painting: Vicente Carducho and Baroque Spain has taken six years to grow from an idea to a reality. We began the project in April 2011 with a colloquium at Oxford University. The contributors to this volume came together to discuss Carducho and his 1633 treatise, Dialogues on Painting. One of the most influential painters of his time, Carducho wrote Dialogues to elevate the status of painters in society, and to provide discussions on decorum, style, technique, collecting and the training of painters in baroque Spain. In tandem with this, the Dialogues contain literary tributes from Carducho’s wide circle of friends, demonstrating the close relationship between art and the written word in early seventeenth-century Madrid.
At the time of the colloquium, we were very much aware that Carducho was a neglected author and painter, especially outside of Spain. There had not been a book-length volume on his work in English for nearly forty years, yet he is a figure of supreme importance to all those wishing to study Spanish art of the Golden Age, including many who do not read Spanish fluently. We were delighted to see the publication, in Spanish, of a catalogue raisonné of his drawings in 2015, to accompany a wonderful exhibition at the National Library of Spain in Madrid. Our book complements the catalogue raisonné, offering in-depth analysis of Carducho’s thought, his art and his significance in the artistic culture of baroque Spain.
Dr Jean Andrews, University of Nottingham