Date

2015

Author

Kutluata, Cemre Naz

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This thesis analyses the alternative approaches to the history writing that emerged during the later half of the nineteenth century with the re-discovery of Florence as the centre of Renaissance art and architecture. It discusses this topic by focusing on the British writer and critic Vernon Lee (1856–1935) and her works on interpreting the past through a personal and impressionistic viewpoint, including her ‘formal’ studies of the Renaissance Euphorion (1884) and Renaissance Fancies and Studies (1895), and her essay collections Belcaro (1882) and Baldwin (1886). Accordingly, it seeks to place Lee in relation to her contemporaries through her standing in the Victorian society as a woman writer of history but her reception as a ‘non-professional’ historian; her practice which was derived from an understanding of history writing as an issue of literature rather than science; her direct connection with the Renaissance lore as a lifelong resident of Florence; and the active role she played as a leading member of the Anglo-American community in the city regarding the conservation of historical sites against modernisation projects of the time. Despite an interdisciplinary reintroduction of Lee’s works in gender/queer studies, the interest on her works in the studies of nineteenth century Renaissance historiography remains sparse. Therefore, in introducing her treatment of history, and her personal contact with Florence and Florentine Renaissance, this thesis aims to show her status as a rewarding historian worthy of recognition on her own.

Subject Keywords

Art, Renaissance, Architecture, Florence (Italy), Art, Italian

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12619426/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/25148

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis