{"product_id":"the-guernica-bull-harry-c-rutledge-9780820332666","title":"The Guernica Bull: Studies in the Classical Tradition in the Twentieth Century","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Guernica Bull\u003c\/i\u003e, Harry C. Rutledge examines the use of classical motifs in twentieth-century literature, art, and drama. From the echoes of Plato's dialogues at the heart of Thomas Mann's \u003ci\u003eDeath in Venice\u003c\/i\u003e to the retelling of the story of Harmodius and Aristogiton--a story with grim parallels to Nazi Germany--in Marguerite Yourcenar's \u003ci\u003eLéna\u003c\/i\u003e, these modern works are a testament to both the creativity of modern artists and the versatility and timelessness of classical themes. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRutledge finds the ideal meshing of classical images and modern sensibility in Pablo Picasso's \u003ci\u003eGuernica\u003c\/i\u003e. The most startling classical image in the painting is the bull, a Cubist face staring out from the canvas at the viewer, unmoved by the scene of death and destruction around him. A symbol of the intense violence and disorder which has characterized this century, Picasso's Minoan bull is, at the same time, a symbol of creative potency and artistic achievement. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe classical tradition in our era is, Rutledge suggests, multi-faceted, much like the Cubist paintings which view human beings as if through a prism, in all their infinite variety and beauty. The legacy of the Greeks and Romans is both stimulus and resource for modern artists, as evidenced by the meticulous historical reconstruction in Yourcenar's \u003ci\u003eMémoires d'Hadrien\u003c\/i\u003e, the recreation of an ancient setting in modern terms in Jean Cocteau's \u003ci\u003eThe Infernal Machine\u003c\/i\u003e and T. S. Eliot's \u003ci\u003eThe Family Reunion\u003c\/i\u003e, and the influence of classical monuments and landscapes in the poetry of Frederick Nicklaus, James Dickey, and Richard Wilbur. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eModern artists have often found an affinity between themselves and the ancients. In the Greek and Roman works that, through their clarity and brevity, have transcended time and place, contemporary writers and painters perceive the essence of the infinite, which is the challenge in any artistic endeavor. Showing how some modernists have met this challenge, \u003ci\u003eThe Guernica Bull\u003c\/i\u003e explores the ancient antecedents of several of the most distinctive twentieth-century masterpieces.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Harry C. Rutledge\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0820332666\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780820332666\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Georgia Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/01\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 168\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.40d","brand":"Harry C. Rutledge","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48453406228735,"sku":"9780820332666","price":27.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_ea95b272-5a53-437c-a8a2-a5b80f023a68.jpg?v=1777300052","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-guernica-bull-harry-c-rutledge-9780820332666","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}