The Period Eye

Notes on Early Modern Visual Culture

September 19, 2011
by tlarkin
Comments Off on “Smart enough to play it their way”: Lady Lou as Quiescent Ariadne and Resistant Sabine

“Smart enough to play it their way”: Lady Lou as Quiescent Ariadne and Resistant Sabine

Repeating the practice of releasing films from Hollywood’s golden age only at the end of a technology’s life cycle, Universal Studios recently released Lowell Sherman’s She Done Him Wrong (Paramount, 1933) on DVD. The plot centers on Lady Lou (played … Continue reading

August 4, 2011
by tlarkin
Comments Off on The Sybaritic Existence of the Executive Salesman: Donald Draper Meets Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette

The Sybaritic Existence of the Executive Salesman: Donald Draper Meets Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette

A torrid drama about New York City’s advertising industry in the early 1960s, Matthew Weiner’s Mad Men (which refers to Madison Avenue and the all-male executive elite) is currently enjoying high ratings on cable television. The series’ popularity is due … Continue reading

July 4, 2011
by tlarkin
Comments Off on From Courtly Ceremonial to Domestic Drama: The Fluctuating Fortunes of a Grand Staircase

From Courtly Ceremonial to Domestic Drama: The Fluctuating Fortunes of a Grand Staircase

Karel Riesz’s Isadora, a 1968 biopic about the celebrated early twentieth-century American dancer, has resurfaced on the Internet in recent months. About an hour into the film there is a scene that serves to underscore the determination of Isadora Duncan … Continue reading