Visual Time

Keith Moxey is Barbara Novak Professor of Art History at Barnard College and Columbia University. He is the author of many books, including The Practice of Persuasion: Paradox and Power in Art History; The Practice of Theory: Poststructuralism, Cultural Politics, and Art History; and Peasants, Warriors, and Wives: Popular Imagery in the Reformation.

• List of Illustrations ixAcknowledgments xiIntroduction 1Part I. Time 91. Is Modernity Multiple? 112. Do We Still Need a Renaissance? 233. Contemporaneity's Heterochronicity 37Part II. History 514. Visual Studies and the Iconic Turn 535. Bruegel's Crows 776. Mimesis and Iconoclasm 1077. Impossible Distance 139Conclusion 173Bibliography 177Index 199

“Every page is graced with an erudite yet refreshingly accessible writing style-a rare feat these days-which makes the reader feel excessively smart.  . . . If you are not afraid to come away with more questions than you started with, this book definitely belongs within easy reach on your shelf. It is a book to anyone interested in the philosophy of time, the nature of art, and the ever-growing contemporary discourses of history and art history.” - SeungJung Kim (Art in America) “Though it is a far-reaching critique of the kind of historicism that contents itself with studying the past without regard for the present, Keith Moxey’s Visual Time: The Image in History is not an attempt to liberate us from history. On the contrary, it is a critique of historicism in the name of history, and it never loses sight of the urgent issues that have fueled historicism, especially in the last century.” - Amy Knight Powell (CAA Reviews) “Due to the breadth and variety of content and theory, the book should have wide-ranging application for art historians working in a number of geographic regions and time periods, and it should benefit those working in theory as well as object-based scholarship. . . . Moxey’s work is another valuable foray into a rich field, and it has the potential to reshape art historical discourse.” - James Fishburne (Comitatus) "This book, with its sophisticated language and discussion of methodological and historiographical insights, will be key reading for graduate students and scholars across art history and related fields. While the case studies pertain largely to sixteenth-century northern European works, Moxey's thoughtful and provocative consideration of issues related to time, history, periodization, style, aesthetics, and presence in the interpretation of objects from the past will appeal to all who are grappling with these theoretical issues."  - Joyce de Vries (Sixteenth Century Journal)  "Affect and historicism-dueling presences within any art experience-animate Keith Moxey’s superb new collection of essays on Northern Renaissance painting." - Christopher P. Heuer (Renaissance Quarterly)